Three-putt miscues slow down Tabuena's charge

MANILA, Philippines -- Miguel Tabuena endured a roller-coaster round at the Indonesia Open on Friday, nearly squandering a red-hot start before settling for a three-under 68, helping him climb 14 spots on the leaderboard to tie for 16th place midway through the tournament, now led by Sampson Zheng.

Tabuena sustained his three-under frontside card in closing out his first round 69 Thursday, birdieing the first three holes of his second round. He added two more birdies on Nos. 6 and 8 to raise hopes of an explosive day for the Filipino ace.

However, the Damai Indah Golf course’s challenging back nine proved to be a significant obstacle. Tabuena faltered with bogeys on the 13th and 15th holes, both caused by three-putts on the tricky greens.

Despite his struggles on the back nine, where he carded a one-over 37, Tabuena, whose campaign is sponsored by ICTSI, managed to avert a complete collapse by scrambling for pars on four of the last nine holes.

His 36-hole aggregate of 137 placed him in a tie for 16th alongside 13 others, though they remain nine strokes behind Zheng.

The Chinese surged ahead with a flawless eight-under 63, giving him a two-round total of 128, storming past erstwhile leader Aaron Wilkin, who set a course record with a 61 on Thursday but struggled to a one-over 71 in his second round, dropping him to second place at 132, four strokes behind Zheng.

Meanwhile, Justin Quiban, who matched Tabuena’s opening 69, looked poised for a strong finish with a two-under front nine.

However, his round unraveled on the back nine with a double bogey on the 13th and a three-putt on the 16th, resulting in a one-under 71.

With a total of 141, Quiban barely made the cut, while Angelo Que withdrew after a disappointing 76 in the first round.