Tabuena stumbles after sizzling start

MANILA, Philippines - Miguel Tabuena rued what he termed as “amateur” mistakes at the finish as he blew an early surge and settled for another 70 to stay two strokes behind Thai Panuphol Pittayarat in the second round of the Mercuries Taiwan Masters at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club yesterday.

Tabuena made a sizzling charge with six birdies, including four straight from No. 5, in a 10-hole stretch to wrest control of the elite field but he stumbled with a double-bogey on the par-5 15th and holed out with back-to-back bogeys for a 32-38.

“I’m not happy with the way I finished. I had a perfect drive (on No. 15) and had 250 yards to the green. Unfortunately, my second shot was way off from where I thought it should be. I chipped out and it got stuck in a tree root and I doubled from there,” recalled Tabuena.

“That got my head hot going into the next holes which shouldn’t have happened. It was an amateur mistake,” he added.