All that Miguel Tabuena is hoping for is make strong statement in the final tournament of LIV Golf for the season in Indianapolis. He’s had an essentially forgettable season in terms of scoring, and this is one last chance to be remembered.
Well, apparently his game is not cooperating.
The Filipino wild card shot a 69 in the third round and is tied at 45th in the 57-player field, needing a good round in the final round on Sunday to at least make the top 40 and finish the season relatively high.
La Sasso eyes big finish
After shooting 69-70 in the first two rounds, he is just 2 under for the tournament, 11 strokes behind former NCAA champion Michael La Sasso who scored a 4-under-par 66 to follow a 60 the day before.
Tabuena had an uneventful round, although he managed an eagle. But he had only two birdies and the gains were nearly wiped out by three bogeys.
But the tournament is likely an afterthought to LIV’s 57 players, including Tabuena, whose future is on a thread as there has been no final decision made on whether the new investor will actually sign in.
After the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) pulled out of backing the league, it’s been downhill with two tournaments cancelled, including the Team Championship, and the prize for this final event cut in half.
But trying to make the most of it is La Sasso, the youngest player in the league at 22, and who is trying to win his first tournament here.
“I’m happy to be in this spot,” said La Sasso. “It’s definitely been a while. I’m excited more than anything. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, but I’m ecstatic that I’m at this point.”
Chasing him one stroke behind at 12 under are four players, including Richard Bland, the oldest in the league at 53, who shot a 65.
Also tied for second are Cameron Smith and Thomas Detry while a shot farther at 11 under are Sergio Garcia, Joselle Ballester and Younghan Song.
EPSON TOUR: Bianca Pagdanganan eyes Top 10
Bianca Pagdanganan made a strong move to make another Top 10 finish in the Epson Tour after firing a bogey-free 7-under-par 65 in the second round on Sunday at the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic.
The 28-year-old campaigner is 10 under at 134 in the 54-hole tournament as she trails Anni Chan of the United States, Thailand’s Cholcheva Wongras and Australia’s Caitlin Peirce who are all tied on top at 15 under.
Chan shot a 65, Wongras a 64 and Peirce a 63 at Wildhorse Golf Club in Oregon where the cut was pegged at 5 under.
Pagdanganan had one eagle and five birdies in her blemish-free round.
Though it appeared that the course was there for the taking, three other Filipinos competing failed to make the cut.
Pauline del Rosario shot a 69 and was at 2 under in a tie for 95th while Dottie Ardina had a 73 and 1 over in a tie for 11th.
But making the cut along with Pagdanganan was Clariss Guce who rallied with a 66 to make the final round right on the number.
Bianca, who woefully missed the cut in her LPGA stint last week, continued her good streak at the Epson Tour where she has made the cut in all 11 tournaments she played.
She also has had three Top 10s in this tour although, unfortunately, she is too far away in the Race for the LPGA card where only the Top 10 in rankings get an automatic LPGA card.
Pagdanganan is best among the Filipinos but is in 43rd place.
PGA TOUR: Clark leads by 5 at BMW
Wyndham Clark double bogeyed the first hole.
That was not a preview of his third round. Rather it seemed to have fired him up. He did not drop another shot and carded a 5-under-par 65 to pull away by five strokes at the BMW Championship on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
With the way he’s playing, it seems nothing is going to stop him from clinching his third win of the season, which included the US Open, his second major, which he led by six shots on the way to victory.
He had five birdies and an eagle in an eight-hole stretch and no one was able to catch him.
Rory McIlroy is in a tie for second place after a 65 and though he may be a formidable rival, he is given just a slim chance of winning his second tournament of the season after his second Masters last April.
Also in second is Patrick Cantley whose position has more consequence as he battles to make the final tournament of the season, the Tour Championship next week.
He must make the Top 30 in the FedExCup to advance in Atlanta. He is currently at No. 43.
Despite the huge deficit, Rory is unfazed.
"That's a lot to make up," McIlroy said. "But if I focus on myself, try to shoot a good score – I shot a 64 and a 65 this week – shoot something similar tomorrow, you never know."
Clark started to pull away with a birdie on the seventh hole. He eagled the par 5 eighth and then birdied the 10th and followed it with another birdie on the 11th. More birdies came on the 13th and 14th.
"You start seeing the lines and you're so much more committed," Clark said. "You're like, 'OK, that's exactly it.' And then you just stroke it and the ball goes in."
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