Tabuena wins in front of family and fans in Manila while Bhullar finishes T7

Local star Miguel Tabuena was a popular winner of the International Series Philippines on Sunday at his home track in Manila. Image courtesy of Asian Tour.

By Rahul Banerji

Miguel Tabuena delighted the home fans with a solid performance to win the $2 million International Series Philippines by three strokes in Manila on Sunday.

During the final 18 holes, Tabuena had to withstand a barrage of birdies from his closest rivals in his hometown of Sta. Elena Golf Club course, according to the Asian Tour

Tabuena totaled 24-under 264, while Japanese duo Kazuki Higa (65) and Yosuke Asaji (67) finished second at 21-under 267.

India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar tied for seventh at 16 under 272 alongside Caleb Surrat of the US.

Karandeep Kochhar was ranked 36th at 9 under 279, while Ajeetesh Sandhu was a stroke behind at joint 40th. Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia and Rayhan Thomas failed to make the 36-hole cut.

Bhullar traded four birdies, two on each side of the turn, against one drop shot in his 69, while Kochhar closed with a level par 72.

Historical result

At the top, Tabuena’s fourth title made him the most successful Filipino golfer on the Asian Tour, beating Angelo Que, who won three times.

It also pushed his career earnings past the $3 million mark with his first International Series title.

Higa, winner of back-to-back titles in Korea and Chinese Taipei, returned to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit with the finish.

The joint leaders, Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut and China’s Sampson Zheng, both shot 69s to finish tied for fourth at 20 under.

Australian Marc Leishman (65) was the best placed among the various LIV Golf stars in the field this week, taking sole sixth place.

Some of the others included Patrick Reed, Dean Burmester, Charl Schwartzel, Richard Bland and Peter Uihlein.

But the week and the moment in one of the most attended golf tournaments in the Philippines belonged to Tabuena, winner of the DGC Open presented by Mastercard two years ago.

He was one under after seven holes and still tied with Zheng at 18 under.

Breathing space

However, an eagle on the par-five eighth gave him a gap on the field, and he made no mistakes on the back nine as he holed four birdie putts.

“It’s really special. This is the biggest golf event the Philippines has ever hosted,” said the 31-year-old, who fell to his knees after making the winning putt on the 18th hole.

“To win it as a Filipino, for my people, is an incredible honor

“I wasn’t 100 percent this week. Last week I pulled out of an event (in Macau) due to neck cramps, but somehow we managed. We managed to recover and adapt.”

“It was humbling to see the support from the fans, regardless of the type of shot I made.

“My family and friends were there. My mother will be 60 in December and it meant everything to see me win. I just fell to my knees.”

“It was hard to keep it together after such a long, emotional week. I had so many expectations – from others and from myself. This means everything.”

Higa finished his final round in stunning fashion with four birdies in his last four holes.

Aggressive approach

“I talked to my caddy on the 15th hole and we decided to finish strong – to stay aggressive all the way,” the 30-year-old said.

I was able to execute that plan well and got good results from it, so I’m very happy with how we finished it.

“There’s a lot of big tournaments to come (before the Order of Merit is decided), so I’ll just keep doing the same things. Stay patient, stick to my process and try to win again.”

“That’s the main goal.”

Asaji, who has missed seven cuts since early August and withdrew from one tournament in nine starts, finally found the form that saw him win four titles on the Japan Golf Tour, including the 2019 Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour.

The 32-year-old shot a 29 on the back nine on Saturday and was five under today – including a holed bunker shot on the par-three 17th from an impossible position – when he mounted a late attack.

Top draw

The tournament’s star attraction and former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson closed with a 67 to end his week tied for 15th at 13 under.

The International Series Philippines was the sixth of nine events on the 2025 Asian Tour schedule.

The Asian Tour and International Series move to Hong Kong next week for the $2 million Link Hong Kong Open.

Also read: Bhullar stands only seventh at International Series Philippines

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