MIGUEL Tabuena was the leading Filipino player in the first round of the International Series Japan Thursday, firing an even par 71, but may need a good round on Friday if he hopes to make the cut.
Tabuena, a LIV Golf campaigner and making his Asian Tour season debut, was tied for 73rd place, seven strokes behind South Korea’s Hongtaek Kim, who shot 64 to lead the first round at the Caledonian Golf Club in Chiba, Japan.
Only the top 65 players and ties after 36 holes advance to the third round of the season opener International Series which offers a prize fund of $2 million. The event also serves as the third leg of the 2026 Asian Tour season.
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The Philippines has a strong presence in the LIV-supported event with six players, but like Tabuena, who won the IS leg held in the Philippines last October, nearly all have to produce an exceptional second round to make the cut.
Carl Janno Corpuz shot a one-over 72 to tie for 85th; Aidric Chan and Sean Ramos had identical 73s in a tie for 103rd; Lloyd Jefferson Go scored 75 and was in tie for 129th, while Justin Quiban was tied for 141st after a 76 that included a triple and a double bogey.
Tabuena had four birdies but lost them on one double bogey and two bogeys, his even par round saved by a two-putt birdie on the 18th hole.
Also incurring a double bogey each were Corpus and Chan, both on the 15th hole, that disfigured what otherwise would have been a relatively respectable round.
Meanwhile, an eagle on the sixth hole aided Kim’s day’s best round of 64, that included six birdies against a single bogey.
Tied for second at six-under 65 were Thailand’s Poom Sansaksin and South Korea’s Younghan Song who had a bogey-free round.
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