Tabuena ties for 2nd in Malaysia, bags P12.2M

Miguel Tabuena made a crucial bogey mistake on a par-5 he had handled so well all week and paid dearly for it, settling for a second place finish in the Maybank Malaysian Championship behind eventual winner Marcus Fraser of Australia for a paycheck that approximated all of his previous earnings as a professional.

The 21-year-old Tabuena went to the par-5 14th – a hole he had birdied the past three days – still with a chance to win but his drive rolled close to edge of the fairway bunker, denying him of a chance to reach the green in two.

With a third shot so far, he missed the green and failed to rescue par.

He, however, didn’t succumb to pressure and managed to finish off a three-under-par 68 then watched as Fraser earned the two-shot win with a par on the last hole for a 68 and a 269 total.

Soomin Lee of Korea looked like he was ready to win with a two-shot lead after the 15th but he double-bogeyed the 16th and then the 18th for a 73 allowing Tabuena to tie him for second place at 271.

While Fraser won the $500,000 top prize, Tabuena and Lee each shared $260,565. That meant a whopping P12.2 million for Tabuena, an amount that is more than what he earned in his four years as a pro.

That brought his winnings in his first four tournaments both on the Asian Tour and local tour this season to more than P15 million.