Joint 2nd-place finish nets Tabuena P12.4M
Miguel Tabuena put in a strong finish of three-under 68 to tie for second with Soomin Lee of Korea in the Maybank Championship Malaysia won by Aussie Marcus Fraser and pocket a record earning of $260,565 (P12.4 million) in a young pro career.
Staking his claim as the next best star in the region, Tabuena, 21, battled back from five strokes down off Lee with three birdies in the first eight holes but closed out his stint in the $3 million event in roller-coaster fashion. He hit three more birdies in the last 10 holes but fumbled with the same number of bogeys, finishing with a 33-35 card for a 13-under 271 total.
That was two shots off Fraser, who matched Tabuena’s 68 to snatch the crown at 269 worth $500,000 as Lee cracked under pressure and faltered with a 73.
“I can’t complain with the way I played. Not being 100 percent, no complaints at all. It kind of helped that I wasn’t in the final group today, it took some pressure off. Unfortunately, I bogeyed 17 but came back to birdie 18,” said Tabuena, who had to buck a bout with food poisoning at the start of the week.
Tabuena, who pulled within one off Fraser with a birdie on No. 11, also wavered in the stretch but each time he stumbled with a bogey, he rebounded with a birdie, underscoring the resiliency in the young but talented reigning Phl Open champion.
Tabuena’s $260,565 prize was more than his total winnings of $166,204 last year and together with his joint fourth place effort in the Singapore Open last month, where he earned $45,000, the Filipino shotmaker is on his way to improving on his world ranking and boosting his confidence for a crack at US PGA Tour later this year.
However, Juvic Pagunsan’s $666,660 earnings in a playoff loss to Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño in the 2011 Singapore remains the highest winnings by a Filipino in a tournament.