Miguel Tabuena did his country proud with his dominant victory at International Series Philippines presented by BingoPlus. He is not satisfied with that emphatic performance though - his sights are set on a bigger prize: The International Series Rankings title and that coveted place on the LIV Golf League.
The Filipino roared up 46 places to second in The International Series Rankings race with his fourth career Asian Tour victory, played out in front of thousands of passionate home fans at the Sta. Elena Golf Club.
The 180-point haul put him 108.1 points behind current leader Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe who tops the table thanks to a win at International Series Morocco and a runner-up finish at the Jakarta International Championship, and is in pole position to rejoin the LIV Golf League after losing his place on the Iron Heads GC team at the end of the 2024 season.
Tabuena is hoping he can kick on from his victory and chase that goal. He said: “Of course, that is the goal, you know, we want to be on LIV Golf. That was a big goal this year with my game. From the beginning of this week, I didn't have that in mind (rather focusing on the tournament), but to be able to get it done brings me so much confidence and belief in myself that I can actually win these events and hopefully next year.”
With the two further dates on The International Series coming up in the next two weeks – the Link Hong Kong Open and the Moutai Singapore Open – there is simply no time for the 31-year-old to reflect on his stunning home victory.
After the Singapore date, there is a week of Asian Tour duty at the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open before The International Series season-finale – the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Considering Tabuena has been battling the neck spasms that forced him out of the SMJ Macao Open the previous weeks, should he have cause for concern? He said: “It is time to reset. We have Hong Kong, Singapore and Saudi, so I am in a pretty good position to set myself up over the next three tournaments.
“My best finish in an International Series event before this was third last year in Qatar, which was a pretty good field as well. But this, by far, is the biggest win, not only prize money wise, but in terms of the overall experience and environment I was in. It is not easy to compete in front of all of you, and I am just glad that I was able to win it for all of you.”
Elsewhere, Japan’s Kazuki Higa moved up from 16th to seventh and compatriot Yosuke Asaji climbed from 85th to 11th after sharing second place in the Manila event, three shots back from Tabuena. Sampson Zheng of China, who finished fourth after sharing the third-round lead with Tabuena and Sarit Suwannarut of Thailand, moved 14th after previously sitting 36th. In-form Sarit moved from 52 up to 19th in time for the end-of-season run-in.
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of a set of elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings Winner & Runner-Up promotion to the LIV Golf League.
