Tabuena, Ababa cruise to victories

MANILA, Philippines - Miguel Tabuena and Sarah Ababa capped their three-day romp in the Malaysian Junior Open, topping their respective divisions in runaway fashions in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia Sunday.

Tabuena kept his run of under-par scores, closing out with a tournament-best 69 under ideal playing condition for a 54-hole haul of six-under 210 and a 10-shot victory over local bets Paul San and Jeremiah Kim, who both had 220s after a 72 and 73, respectively.

Reigning RP champion Clyde Mondilla matched par 72 and finished fifth with a 224 while Kenneth Kano (79-231) placed eighth and Bino dela Paz (82-234) and Alexes Nallos (77-234) wound up tied for 11th in the annual event for players 12-18 years old.

Aside from the overall crown, Tabuena also romped off with the 15-16 title as the ICTSI-Cangolf mainstay underscored his readiness for his first stint in the men’s national team in the Putra Cup, also in Malaysia, set next week.

Ababa also scored twin victories in the ladies side with the top ICTSI bet posting an eight-shot win over Kelly Tan in the overall division with a 218 after a 72 and a five-stroke victory over Vivienne Chin for the 15-16 crown.

Tan finished second in the 12-18 division with a 226 after a 71 while Chin, also of Malaysia, carded a 78 for third at 233.

The ICTSI-backed Team Philippines also took the team crown with a 287 from Tabuena’s 70-71 and Ababa’s 75-71 rounds in the first two days as the RP bets piled up a 287 aggregate, 18 shots clear of Malaysia, which had a 309.