On Sunday, when Miguel Tabuena finished the final round with a 7-under 65 to win the International Series Philippines, he took a knee and slammed the grass. The 31-year-old had just scored the biggest win of his career – and he did it on his home course in front of his family.
Tabuena shot three consecutive 65 seconds to take the lead over Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Marc Leishman. The fact that he achieved it a week after withdrawing due to neck spasms makes his victory even more impressive. This victory was the fourth in his career, making him the most successful Filipino golfer on the Asian Tour. With this, he has surpassed the $3 million mark in lifetime earnings from the Asian Tour.
“It’s really special. This is the biggest golf event the Philippines has ever hosted. It’s an incredible honor for me as a Filipino to win in front of my people,” Tabuena said after clinching the win.
“My family and friends were there. My mom will be 60 this December, and it meant the most to me to see her win. I just fell to my knees. After such a long and emotional week, it was hard to gather myself. I had so many expectations from others and from myself. This meant everything.”
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But Tabuena’s home victory could mean even more in the coming weeks.
Tabuena entered this week ranked 430th in the Official World Golf Rankings. The win moves him to 251st place and puts him in position to claim the top prize in the International Series, the top tournament group on the Asian Tour. In partnership with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the top players in the International Series Order of Merit will qualify for next season’s LIV Golf.
Tabuena wins on Star. Elena Golf Club moved him up 46 places on the Order of Merit to second place, just 108.1 points behind Scott Vincent with three tournaments remaining. Vincent was a member of the Iron Heads from 2022 to 2024 before losing his spot. He won the International Series in Morocco and was runner-up at the Jakarta International Championship and is in a position to return to LIV unless Tabuena or someone else grabs him.
For Tabuena, who was ranked 1,543rd in the world at the end of 2022, a win on his home turf puts the chance to advance on the breakaway circuit firmly within reach. He knows that finding his way to LIV could change everything.
“Of course, that’s the goal. We want to compete in LIV Golf,” Tabuena said. “That was a big goal for my game this year. I didn’t have that in mind from the beginning of this week (I was more focused on the tournament), but being able to do it gave me a lot of confidence and belief in myself. I think I can actually win these events and hopefully next year as well.”
Last year, Joaquin Niemann finished the season in first place in the International Series rankings, so he did not qualify for LIV Golf. However, after Thomas Peters was traded to the Four Aces, third-place finisher Ben Campbell signed with the Range Goats.
The next International Series event is this week’s LINK Hong Kong Open. Thanks to recent changes to the qualification system by Augusta National Golf Club and the R&A, the winner of the Hong Kong Open will also qualify for the 2026 Masters and 2026 British Open Championship. The International Series concludes with the Mutai Singapore Open from November 6-9 and the PIF Saudi International from November 19-22.
Even if Tabuena does not pass Vincent in the next three tournaments, he would still have a chance to earn a spot at the LIV Promotions event, a Q-school tournament scheduled to be hosted by the Breakaway League at the end of the season, but LIV Golf has not yet released information about the dates or number of spots for the event. There were three slots available in 2023, but LIV reduced that to one slot in 2024. Henrik Stenson, who was demoted from LIV Golf after a poor season, is expected to be one of the players playing for LIV Promotions as he looks to return to the circuit.
