French bags first pro crown; Tabuena at 5th

CARMONA, Cavite, Philippines — More than 11,000 kilometers away from home, in a country he’s never been before, Julien Sale of France finally achieved the breakthrough that had eluded him over the last two years.

Saving his best for last, Sale bombed away with a five-under 65 as he stole the thunder from pacesetters, title favorites and late-charging Pinoys Miguel Tabuena and Aidric Chan and won the Smart Infinity Philippine Open yesterday.

The Asian Tour debutant based in the French west coast laid the groundwork to this glorious coronation by gunning down five birdies in the first 12 holes of the Manila Southwoods’ Masters course.

When the dust of battle settled, the 27-year-old Sale carried an 11-under 269 card, edging Thai Sadom Kaewkanjana, the pacesetter in the first two rounds, and Japanese Tomoyo Ikemura, the Round 3 leader, by one.

“I won as an amateur but since I turned pro two years ago, I’ve never won, so this is my first time,” said Sale, who decided to try his luck in Asia after an unproductive campaign in the European Tour.

Kaewkanjana and Ikemura had a chance to force a playoff after Sale dropped a shot on the par-5 18th. But they fell short of tying it with an eagle on the final hole, each managing a birdie there to settle for joint second and $43,250 each (P2.5 million) ahead of solo fourth placer Kevin Yuan of Australia, who logged 272 after a 68 and earned $25,000 (P1.45 million).

Two-time Open winner Tabuena unleashed a spirited rally but his ending 66 only got him to 273 – four off Sale’s winning mark for joint fifth. He banked $17,133.33 (P998,000).

“I felt I played pretty solid considering my four-over start, said Tabuena, whose first-day 74 put him in danger of missing the halfway cut.

Chan matched the 66 of his flightmate Tabuena to finish at 274 for a share of eighth worth $9,870 (P574,000).

“I did well. Towards the end I just didn’t have a lot of putts fall but I was hitting the ball really good today. Playing with ‘Kuya Miguel’ kind of helped me push myself,” said Chan.

“It’s still a good week. If you’re Top 10 for the week after a risk of probably missing the cut in the first day, it’s a good fightback and I’m really proud.”