The golfing gods couldn’t have produced a better script than having Miguel Tabuena win a prestigious golf tournament at home.
Playing in his home club, in front of his family, friends and passionate countrymen, Miguel Tabuena essayed the biggest tournament win of his career.
And when he put the finishing touches on a magical four-day run at Sta. Elena Golf Club with a short putt that gave him a third straight 7-under 65 and a 24-under 264 to win the inaugural International Series Philippines presented by BingoPlus, the Philippines’ top Filipino male golfer dropped to his knees and bowed down towards the green.
In truth, we should be the ones bowing down to Miguel Tabuena, for what he did over the course of four days was nothing short of majestic.
In the presence of the strongest international field the local golfing community has seen in a long time, Tabuena rose to the occasion and elevated his game. He even scored a hole-in-one in the second round to set the tone. If there ever was a Pinoy pride moment in a local golf tournament, this was it.
Yes, he had “home course” advantage in terms of both familiarity with the course and the support of wildly cheering fans that would rival those of Happy Gilmore, but as Tabuena himself said, these factors can go either way.
“Yeah, it’s very familiar, the course, but it’s not easy playing in front of these people here and I’m glad that I was able to do it,” he said. Besides, he added, the quality of the opposition could easily negate any advantage he had. That is, until it didn’t.
“I said earlier this week that local knowledge wasn’t a big factor so much because of the field and the strength of field, the world-class players here, but I must say it played a big part in the last few holes when I planned with my caddie. We knew exactly where to place the ball, where the pins will be, where to miss it and I think it played a big part in the last few holes to close it out somehow.”
Tabuena had begun the day tied for first with Sarit Suwannarut of Thailand and Sampson Zheng of China, with all three at 17-under. Then on the par-5 eighth, everything changed when he chipped in for an eagle that gave him a one-stroke lead over Zheng.
“An amazing moment,” was how Tabuena described that shot. “I would actually want to see that shot again somewhere, but it was probably the first time I let most of my emotion out when I made that eagle. I shouted and probably lost my voice in the next few holes, but it was nice to feel that I was under control and I think I took the lead then.”
Gradually, Suwannarut and later on Zheng began to fade, and Tabuena took control. “I can say that momentum slowly was switching to my side, but I had to do my part and keep the gas down and I was glad I was able to do that.”
Even when Zheng and later on Japan’s Yosuke Asaji put on the pressure, Tabuena didn’t fold. He simply continued charging forward, towards the 18th green where history beckoned.
“I really didn’t think about the people behind me. I told my caddie just to keep the foot on the pedal. You know, you can’t let up, you can’t play defensive or else they will catch you.
“I’m glad that I was able to trust every shot I had, trust every yardage I had, trust every read I had out there to execute everything I needed to do. It was special. I was nervous and excited at the same time but I was also very much at peace out there, for sure.”
For most of the back nine he maintained at least a three-stroke lead thanks to four birdies, and two straight pars on the 17th and 18th were more than enough to hold off the late challenge of Asaji. After that final putt, the crowd roared, and Tabuena dropped to the ground.
“I just fell on my knees. It was hard to keep it together. It was just a hard whole week for me, you know, with the expectations I had from other people, from myself. And to be able to get it done is a relief, very much a relief.”
After he finally got to his feet, those dearest to him – parents Luigi and Lorna, wife Sandra and toddler Paloma – gathered around him to celebrate his achievement.
“I’m glad that they were out there,” he said of his family’s presence, even though he admitted his 22-month-old daughter had no idea what was going on. “It’s a dream come true, you know. You can’t imagine it any better than this.
“It was a goal to win an International Series event and I’m really, really glad that it was in the Philippines, in my home country, in my home club, in front of my family, my friends and everyone here supporting me.”
Through those four days, “everyone” literally meant everyone at Sta. Elena. Wherever he walked, fans egged him on. “Go Miguel!” practically became a catchphrase. And as he steadily climbed the leaderboard, the crowd steadily grew in size as well. By Day 4, even non-golf fans were shelling out the price of admission just to see Miguel Tabuena play. It’s no small feat to get thousands of people to drive down SLEX from Metro Manila just to watch a golf tournament.
“It started Thursday afternoon till 4:30 (Sunday),” he noted. “It was humbling to see the support I had out there no matter what kind of shot I hit. It was nice to be able to perform like that in front of them and show that the Filipino can truly compete on a world-class stage.”
Not just compete, actually. Miguel Tabuena showed a Filipino could win the whole damn thing.
Banner images from Asian Tour