An ace, an eagle, four birdies… and 1-4-3.

Welcome to Miguel Tabuena’s magic show at the International Series Philippines presented by BingoPlus on Friday — a dazzling performance highlighted by a stunning hole-in-one that even had the Filipino ace doing a double take.

“It was nice that I was here in front of friends, family, and my home club,” said Tabuena, who used an 8-iron from 171 yards out. 

“I didn’t see it go in, but they said that it took one… I didn’t see it go in, but Dustin said it’s in.”

The confirmation came from no less than former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, a moment Tabuena called “pretty surreal.”

His scorecard read 1, 4, 3 from holes 14 to 16 — numbers that, in the Philippines, whisper “I love you.” And perhaps the course was saying it back, as his perfectly struck 7-wood on the par-5 16th set up the eagle.

“That’s my favorite pin position for that hole,” he added. 

“It’s a green light for me all day.”

Tabuena’s early momentum carried through as he birdied holes 2 and 3 before cooling off. 

“Other than that, it was a pretty solid round. The plan was to get back in position for moving day,” he said.

Still, the Filipino standout wasn’t completely satisfied.

“I left quite a few. I could have hit more fairways. Missed two greens inside 140 yards, which is a no-no. You have to take advantage when you’re in the fairway. When you’re in the rough, the ball can’t go anywhere. Hopefully, more fairways tomorrow and more green lights.”

Tabuena credited his team for helping him recover quickly after Thursday’s round.

“After yesterday, I went straight to the house, and the team did a great recovery session. I had an early dinner and woke up today at 3:50 to start my workout. I’m pretty sleepy now, but I still have some stuff to do in the afternoon,” he said with a laugh.

He also noted the quality of the field and the challenge that Sta. Elena presents. 

“It’s good. It’s a strong field — one of the stronger fields on the International Series. I’m glad it’s in my home, of course. There’s a bit of local nudge out there, but these are world-class players, and they’ll adapt to anything.”

“I know I’m a world-class player, so we have two more days to get the job done,” he declared.

Tabuena said he took advantage of the calmer morning conditions before the winds picked up. “Once we got to the turn, the wind started to blow, which can get tricky out there. You have to think of lines off the tee, think of the pin positions, think of if you’re in the rough, where to miss it.”

Describing Sta. Elena as “normally a walk in the park,” he said the course setup this week “made it so much tougher than what it is, which is good. It will bring out the best in all of us.”

Confident and composed heading into the weekend, Tabuena summed it up best: “Hopefully, yeah. I seem to perform better when the course isn’t that much forgettable. I’d like to think I’m a very accurate driver, and I don’t make too many mistakes. Hopefully, it gets more tough in the next two days.”