MIGUEL Tabuena fired a one-under-par 69 in the second round of the LIV Golf Hong Kong on Friday, but it hardly made a dent in his overall situation as the Filipino star languished near the bottom of the field where he is tied for second to last.
Tabuena managed to break par with a birdie on the short par-4 14th hole, his third to last after starting on the 17th in the shotgun-format tournament. He also birdied hole No. 1 but bogeyed the 9th.
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He shot a 2-over-par 72 in the first round and, at 1-over for the tournament, is 15 strokes behind joint leaders Carlos Ortiz and Dean Burmester, who are at 14-under-par.
He is tied at 55th place, just ahead of Martin Kaymer who is at last place at 57th after shooting a 74 for a 3-over card.
It was an underwhelming performance for the 31-year-old Tabuena, the first Filipino to play at LIV Golf, known for its overwhelming prizes where $20 million is at stake in the individual competition and $10 million in the team event.
The winner receives $4 million, while the last four placers each will get $50,000.
Tabuena, however, does not belong to a team and is playing as a wild card along with four others.
On a day marked by low scores, Tabuena could not get his game going, settling for pars as practically entire the field punished the relatively short Hong Kong Golf Club course with an avalanche of birdies.
Thomas Detry, in solo third, shot 7-under 63, Jon Rahm, in fourth place, was 8-under for the day after a 62, while tied for fifth at 11 under were Matthew Wolff (64), David Puig (64) and Richard Bland, (63).
Anthony Kim, the improbable winner of LIV's last event in Adelaide, Australia, was tied in 50th place after scoring a 2-over-par 72 and was at 1-under for the tournament.
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