Miguel Tabuena made his LIV Golf debut in style, firing a one-under-par 71 in the opening round at the Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
Suiting up for the 4Aces GC skippered by superstar Dustin Johnson, the 31-year-old Tabuena wasted no time to prove that he belongs as he opened his historic appearance in the Saudi-backed league at the 35th spot, six shots behind teammate Thomas Detry and Peter Uhlein, who shot with identical seven-under-par 65s.
Aside from Detry, another 4Aces GC stalwart in Thomas Pieters shot a two-under-par 70 while Johnson, whom Tabuena toppled in the International Series Philippines last year at the Sta. Elena Golf and Country Club, fired an even par 72.
Tabuena shot three birdies against two bogeys and was in a seven-way tie for 35th together with Jason Kokrak, Danny Lee, Brendan Steele and Sam Horsfield.
All in all, the 4Aces GC is tied with Smash GC for fourth place at 10-under, behind Torque GC, which set the early face led by Sebastian Muñoz’s 67 and Abraham Ancer’s 68 for a combined 15-under team total.
Tabuena said getting an opportunity to tee off with the best players in the world in a tournament that stakes a mouthwatering prize of $4 million — or roughly P235 million — to the winner is truly a dream come true.
In fact, when his name was mentioned to be one of the reserves, he had to stay in Riyadh and forgo his chance to see action in the inaugural Philippine Golf Championship that also opened at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club on Thursday.
Fortunately for him, Johnson made the call and included him in the roster to replace former Major winner Patrick Reed despite finishing only third behind Scott Vincent and Yosuke Asaji in the International Series ranking.
“It’s an unbelievable opportunity for me this week,” said Tabuena, who became the first Filipino to see action in the prestigious LIV Golf League.
“Competing against the best player in the world has always been a dream of mine and I still can’t believe it’s finally happening.”
“Winning in Manila at the International Series Philippines and playing well there definitely helped. That tournament had the strongest field I’ve ever played against.”
True enough, Tabuena immediately made his presence felt. Together with playing partners Danny Lee and Cameron Tringale, Tabuena teed off on the back nine and opened with a par on No. 10 before nearly making a birdie on the No. 11 after his six-foot downhill putt slid left of the cup.
Although he faced trouble at the bunker of par-No. 12, Tabuena displayed his power from the tee box by reaching the green of the par-5 No. 13 in just two strokes for his first birdie of the round.
He carried the momentum into the front nine as Tabuena stuffed his approach on the opening hole to four feet and rolled in the birdie to move to two-under. While missed chances and another bunker miscue on No. 5 stalled his climb, he still remained focused to stay within striking distance entering the second round, where he will be paired with Danny Lee of Korean GC and Cameron Tringale of HyFlyers GC on Friday.