Shin edges Tabuena, nails TCC crown by 1

STA. ROSA, Laguna – Micah Shin hit clutch birdies to build a three-shot cushion at the back then watched Miguel Tabuena bungle a playoff-clinching birdie putt on the 72nd hole to snare The Country Club Invitational crown on a closing one-under 71 at the TCC course here yesterday.

The final round lived up to the hype despite Shin’s early threat of a breakaway as Tabuena fought back from four down to threaten within one with seven holes to go before the lanky KoreanAmerican banged in back-to-back birdies from No. 13 then made gutsy pars in the next three to nail the victory on a five-under 283 total.

Not even a final-hole bogey off a pulled approach shot into the greenside bunker could stop Shin, 21, from becoming the first non-Filipino and youngest winner of the event put up by ICTSI president and chairman Ricky Razon in 2003 as Tabuena missed forcing a playoff with a muffed birdie putt from pinlength distance.

The win, worth P1.5 million, was Shin’s third in a flourishing career. The Davao-based shotmaker scored a breakthrough in the CAT Open at Luisita in 2016 then banked P9 million in a playoff victory in an Asian Tour event at Southwoods last year.

“I’m very happy. I thank God for giving me a chance to win this,” said Shin, who considered his third round 67 as the turning point then banked on his long game to neutralize Tabuena in the final round.

Shin celebrated his big triumph sans the traditional fist-pump but pointed to the hole after a tap-in bogey following Tabuena’s miss.