TAIPEI—Rookie pro Miguel Tabuena moved 39 places to No. 69 in the Asian Order of Merit after posting a career-high fourth place finish in the $600,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters here Sunday.
The 17-year-old Filipino, the youngest Asian Tour member this season, closed out with a 74 after earlier rounds of 67-71-72 for a 72-hole total of 284 and won $30,000 (about P1.2 million).
Tabuena wound up six strokes behind winner Lu Wei-chih. Juvic Pagunsan (73) tied for ninth at 287 to earn $11,400. Elmer Salvador (72) salvaged a tie for 15th at 290 followed by Artemio Murakami (75-292), Antonio Lascuña (74-293) and Angelo Que (81-298).
“I finally got my confidence back. Finishing fourth in a big tournament like this is really good. I know I’ll bounce back after this,” said Tabuena, who turned professional in February and now has total winnings of $43,313 in 11 tournaments.