Tabuena is king at Luisita
Nothing really went wrong. I just had a couple of bad breaks.
Nothing really went wrong. I just had a couple of bad breaks.

NEWTOWN SQUARE (AFP) — Rory McIlroy said his nagging right pinky toe injury was “totally fine” after playing a…

Archers deliver statement sweep in UAAP golf

As Aidric Chan waited for his turn to tee off in the final round of the Singapore Open on the International Series at…

TAGAYTAY CITY — Enderun Colleges, powered by a bounce-back performance from Kristyanna Herrera, turned the ICTSI…

‘This isn’t the best I can be yet. I’m always working to get better every day, every round.’

Photograph by joey sanchez mendoza for the daily tribune @tribunephl_joey MIGUEL Tabuena displays his trophy after defending his title in the ICTSI Luisita Championship in Tarlac.
Read next

What's your take?
Google Preferred Sources
Get more Daily Tribune stories in your search results
Add Daily Tribune as a preferred source on Google Search.
Continue reading
Miguel Tabuena continued his love affair with the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed golf course, winning the ICTSI Luisita Championship for the second straight year with a closing seven-under-par 65 in Tarlac on Friday.
"It's just something about this course where I feel very comfy. This is my fifth win at Luisita alone," said Tabuena who finished on 14-under 274.
"It's something about the greens, the atmosphere, the history, the people watching every year. It feels like home and hopefully, I will have time to come back next year."
Starting the day one shot behind Ira Alido, the 25-year-old Asian Tour regular started with a bogey but rallied with a flurry of birdies bridging the two nines.
He birdied 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12 and 13 before dropping a shot on 15 and another birdie on 16.
"The turning point was actually when I caught Ira (Alido) on the ninth hole. But there were still so many holes left," Tabuena said.
Back-to-back birdies at the start of the back nine pushed Alido in front by one but Tabuena responded with a two-shot swing on 12 which he birdied.
The lead went up to two when Tabuena birdied 13. He sealed the win with a birdie on 16.
Alido settled for second on 12-under following a 68.
"Nothing really went wrong. I just had a couple of bad breaks. Overall, it went really good. Miguel (Tabuena) just played better," Alido said. "We were going back and forth but there were some shots that I wished I could've taken them back."
Tabuena picked up the winner's check of P350,000 while Alido settled for P236,000 out of the P2-million pot.
The newly-crowned champion had nothing but praise for Alido.
"Ira is a hell of a player, He just won a few months ago and he has big things coming for him," said Tabuena who won the Philippine Open also at Luisita in 2015.
Fidel Concepcion enhanced a promising career with a third-place finish, charging back with a solid 66 spiked by a three-birdie binge from 13 for a 279 total while Clyde Mondilla sizzled for a 66 for fourth place on 281.
Zanieboy Gialon and Michael Bibat tied for fifth on 282 after a 69 and 70, respectively, while Tony Lascuña shot a bogey-free 68 for joint seventh on 284 with Frankie Miñoza, who fumbled with a 75.
The leading scores:
274 — Miguel Tabuena 72-68-69-65
276 — Ira Alido 71-70-67-68
279 — Fidel Concepcion 72-69-72-66
281 — Clyde Mondilla 76-69-70-66
282 — Michael Bibat 66-73-73-70, Zanieboy Gialon 65-74-74-69
284 — Tony Lascuna 71-73-72-68, Frankie Minoza 69-69-71-75
285 — Jhonnel Ababa 70-76-71-68
286 — Jay Bayron 71-67-72-76, Angelo Que 73-69-70-74, Atsushi Ueda 71-72-70-73
287 — Rho Hyun Ho 71-75-68-73, Nilo Salahog 71-72-74-70, Dino Villanueva 71-74-68-74
288 — Art Arbole 74-69-75-70, Keanu Jahns 71-72-74-71, Keanu Jahns 71-72-74-71, Reymon Jaraula 73-74-71-70, Sean Jean Ramos 71-73-74-70.