CANLUBANG, Laguna – Miguel Tabuena rallied from five strokes down to win a thrilling final round duel with Juvic Pagunsan in the TCC Invitational that went down the wire that showcased a titanic battle between the country’s two golfers.
Tabuena anchored his victory behind an even par 72, spiced by an eagle, to subdue the talented but temperamental Pagunsan who bogeyed three of the last four holes to lose the battle by one stroke at the demanding 7,700-yard The Country Club course whose early legacy will be that of humiliating the pros rather than demonstrating their brilliance.
The scores told the story.
Tabuena finished four rounds at 13 over par on rounds of 75-74-80-72 – 301, while Pagunsan was at 302 on rounds of 75-74-80-72.
Third place went Japan’s Toru Nakajima, the first leadr who shot the tournament’s only sub-par rounds, a 70, on opening day. He was three strokes behind at 304, while Angelo Que, who shared the second round lead, was solo fourth after firing an 81, a stroke further at 305.
Jhonnel Ababa and Antonio Lascuña each fired an an eight-over-par 80 and shared fifth place.
Lascuña, who also started the final round five off Pagunsan, birdied No. 2 but reeled back with a string of bogeys – four in the next five holes – then bowed out with a birdie-less 41.
But it was a day t remember for Tabuena, whose 80 in the third round nearly eliminated him from title contention.
With the course playing to harrowing conditions as winds blew hard, Tabuena played with the composure of one who has been through testy rounds, having gone to the Olympics, the PGA Tour’s Sony Open, the World Cup and just recently, successive stints in Myanmar and Singapore.
He began his rally with a birdie on the fourth and then stunned his rivals with an eagle on the eighth that saw him grab a one-stroke lead after Pagunsan carded a bogey on the fourth and a double bogey on the fifth.
Tabuena nursed the lead until the end of the first nine. But starting the back, disaster struck when Tabuena double bogeyed the 10th, the same hole which Pagunsan birdied, and the three-shot swing put Juvic back on top by two strokes.
“My plan for the frontnine was to get within 2 or 3 but I saw that I was one-up. I executed my plan. I knew the pins are very, very difficult so I told myself to be smart,” said Tabuena.
Although Tabuena played a grup ahead of Pagunsan, it was Juvic who blinked after the 10th hole.
He bogeyed the 11th and then added three more bogeys on the closing holes – the 15th, 16th and 18th holes – to give his campaign a sad ending.
