Tabuena, Que gird for worst WC finish

MANILA, Philippines - Miguel Tabuena and Angelo Que, who had hoped to rebound in the Foursomes after a 67 in Fourballs Friday, limped with another 77 in the alternate-shot format yesterday and the Philippines headed for a worst-ever finish in the World Cup of Golf.

Tumbling to the tailend of the 28-team field with a 54-hole aggregate of 221, Tabuena and Que must better their five-under card output in the better ball format in the final round today to save the country from finishing dead last in the two-man team competition.

Like in the first round, the Filipino duo failed to complement each other in the Foursomes, dropping two strokes on the par-4 No. 3. Though they birdied the next, Tabuena and Que reeled back with four straight bogeys from No. 6. They settled down a bit with four pars to open the backside but bogeyed the par-5 14th before birdying the 16th for a 40-37 and a 221.

That was 19 strokes behind the Danish pair of Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen, who seized control with a solid 12-under 60 in Fourballs then hung tough with a 70 in the Foursomes for a 202 total, four ahead of Team USA of Jimmy Walker and Ricky Fowler, who combined for a 69 for a 206.

China’s Ashun Wu and Haotong Li matched par 72 for a 207 while Japanese Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Ishikawa carded a 71 to force a three-way tie at fourth at 209 with France and Spain, which turned in a 71 and 72, respectively.