CABUYAO, Laguna - Fittingly enough, the biggest golf tournament the Philippines has ever hosted was won by the country's best player.
Miguel Tabuena pulled off the biggest win of his career before adoring home fans on Sunday, ruling the $2 million International Series Philippines presented by Bingo Plus by three shots after a third straight seven-under 65 at the Sta. Elena Golf Club.
Almost an afterthought at the start of the tournament that had four major champions led by Dustin Johnson, Tabuena seized the spotlight with a masterclass in a short but tricky Sta. Elena highlighted by one hole-in-one and four other eagles.
Tabuena didn't just win this; he ran away with it.
The former jungolf star capped a staggering 24-under 264 performance with a par save at an 18th green ringed by fans that were five thick in some areas, dropping to his knees when the final five-foot putt for par dropped to the cup.
The world No. 430 later celebrated on the 18th green with his wife, daughter and dad Luigi as the three-shot victory over the Japanese pair of Kasuki Higa and Yosuke Asaji gave him a cool $360,000 (around P6 million) paycheck .
"I'm speechless right now, but I'm glad I got it done this week," said Tabuena, who has three previous Asian Tour victories including a Philippine Open in his career - but never before a crowd this big and a field as star-studded as this one.
More than the prize purse, the victory moved Tabuena to No. 3 in the Asian Tour rankings and to second spot in The International Series rankings behind Zimbabwe's Scott Vincent - thanks to the 180 points he got to for the victory.
The International Series topnotcher gains a spot in the rich LIV Golf tour. With 210.89 points to Vincent's 306.4, Tabuena has a realistic shot at the LIV spot heading to the final three legs in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.
Tied for the lead with Thailand's Sarit Suannarut and Chinese Sampson Zheng at 17-under entering the final round, Tabuena surged ahead with a pitch-in eagle at the 8th - a hole that, ironically, he couldn't even birdie the first three days.
Tabuena, 31, seized control with four birdies in the heart of Sta. Elena's tough backnine just as his closest pursuers were dropping out one after the other, turning the final two holes into a coronation for the Philippines' biggest golf hero.
Zheng and Suannarut closed with identical 69s to wind up at joint fourth at 20-under while Aussie Marc Leishman was the best finisher among the big names in the field at 19-under after a closing 65.
Johnson was joint 15th at 13-under after a final-round 67; former major winner Charl Schwartzel was at 14-under after a 68, while Patrick Reed came in at joint 20th with an 11-under total after a 70 on the final day.
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