Tabuena fires 67, finishes 5th in Korea Open

MANILA, Philippines -- Miguel Tabuena maintained his momentum from the third round, closing with a four-under 67 to secure a strong fifth-place finish in the Korea Open ruled by Minkyu Kim in Cheonan, South Korea Sunday.

Though Tabuena missed one of the two coveted berths for The Open (British Open), his performance bodes well for his upcoming campaign in the International Series in Morocco next month.

Tabuena moved into a tie for seventh with a 68 at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club course on Saturday. He broke a four-par stretch with three birdies in the next four holes and added two more birdies on Nos. 12 and 14, sparking hopes of a Top 3 finish for the ICTSI-sponsored Filipino shotmaker.

However, he struggled to get up-and-down in the next two holes before dominating the closing par-5 18th to string together a 33-34. He finished with a six-under 278 for solo fifth.

Kim fired a 66 to dominate the field with a 273, beating third-round leader Younghan Song by three strokes. Song slowed down with an even-par 71 and wound up second with a 276, securing the other slot for the 152nd staging of one of the world’s majors at Royal Troon on July 18-21.