MIGUEL Tabuena ended his LIV Golf debut with his best round of the tournament, a three-under-par 69 at the Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia which was played under the lights on Saturday (early Sunday morning in Manila).
Tabuena, 31, who was called in at the last minute by 4Aces captain Dustin Johnson to complete the American’s team in the league’s first tournament of the season, finished tied for 48th place in the 57-player field.
READ Tabuena shoots one-under 71 in LIV Golf debut in Riyadh
He posted a four-round total of 282, after earlier rounds of three straight 71s, six under par for the tournament, 18 strokes behind winner Elvis Smylie of Australia, who was 24-under for the tournament.
Tabuena had five birdies against two bogeys for the day and could not make headway against the leaders who rained birdies on the desert course.
Smylie, who, like Tabuena, was also making his debut after being recruited from the DP World Tour, shot a final round 8-under-par 64 to win the championship, beating Jon Rahm by one stroke.
Rahm fired a 63 and finished at 23 under, two strokes ahead of third placer Peter Uihlein who was at 21 under. Bryson DeChambeau, the league’s top attraction, finished tied for 13th at 10 under.
Despite his poor finish, which can be traced to first-tournament jitters, it was not a totally wasteful debut for Tabuena, arguably the country’s best golfer, who decided to skip the Philippine Golf Championship, the Asian Tour opener, at Wack Wack Golf Club this week.
Tabuena took home $50,000 (P2.9 million) for his four days’ work, a significant amount in comparison with his Asian Tour campaigns where that amount is perhaps the prize for winning a tournament.
The $50,000 prize is the minimum for players finishing 47th to 57th. Notably, had Tabuena finished two strokes better, he would have nearly tripled his earnings. The 46th placer got $125,000.
On the other hand, winner Smylie pocketed $4 million, second placer Rahm $2.25 million and third placer Uihlein, $1.15 million.
For placing third in the team competition, Tabuena’s team, the 4Aces, won $900,000. Ripper Golf Club, Smylie’s team, topped the team standings and won $3 million while second placer Torque Golf Club took home $1.5 million.
The winnings will be divided among team members.
Next stop for LIV Golf is Adelaide in Australia from Feb. 12-15.
Having gotten his feet wet in Riyadh, it’s highly probable Tabuena will perform much better in the next tournament.
He was the least productive in the team competition with teammatesThomas Peters leading the way by placing fourth at 20 under, Thomas Detry in seventh spot at 19 under and Dustin Johnson in 17th place at 14 under.
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