- By Vishal Pushkar
- Sat, 25 Oct 2025 04:05 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Sarit Suwannarut maintained his lead, extending his advantage at the top of the leaderboard to four shots at the midway point of the US$2 million International Series Philippines presented by BingoPlus. The two-time International Series champion recorded a six-under par 66 to go along with his opening round of 64, putting him at 14-under par after 36 holes, four strokes ahead of local favorite Miguel Tabuena (65), who thrilled his home crowd with an impressive round featuring a hole-in-one and an eagle within three holes.
Alongside Tabuena at 10-under was the well-performing Japanese golfer Kazuki Higa (69).
Sarit’s first shot of the day, on the opening hole, ended up in the penalty area, but he managed to make a birdie from there. That just set the tone for the day as he raced ahead of the field.
“It helped a lot (the birdie on first). I mean, after I hit the tee shot, I didn't even know where it was. I asked Guna (caddie) where it was and he said it was in the fairway. I didn’t believe him. Luckily, I got a good lie and it was a good shot from about 50 yards, and the birdie helped to keep the momentum from yesterday,” said Sarit, who made only one bogey on each of the first two days.
You just have to focus only on what you have to do, and hit your shot. I have been playing good golf for the past four weeks, so I know what I can do.
“I know my game well, and I’ve just tried to stay calm and focus on what I need to do. So far, it’s been working nicely, and I hope to keep the momentum going over the next two days.”
Golf fans in the Philippines turned up in huge numbers for the tournament, and they were rewarded as the home favourite Tabuena raised hopes of a Filipino champion.
On the 171-yard 14th, Tabuena did not see his ball take a hop and disappear into the hole, but the eagle was perfectly planned.
“It’s not every day you make a hole-in-one, but I was glad I kept it together after that. There’s a lot of golf to be played, but it was nice. It’s been probably six years since my last one and only second in a competition. It was nice that it was here in front of friends, family and in my home club,” said the three-time winner on the Asian Tour, who had to pull out of the SJM Macao Open with a neck spasm.
Tabuena was joined on the weekend by veteran Angelo Que, who carded a superb seven-under round to sit in T4 on nine under, with Justin Quiban on six under after an impressive 68.
International Series Philippines is the sixth of nine elevated events on the Asian Tour this season which offer a pathway onto LIV Golf through a season-long Rankings race.
International Series tournaments have already been played in India, Macau, Japan and Morocco this season along with the Jakarta International Championship last time out.
The series rounds off with the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisors from 19-22 November, and the leader of the season-long Rankings race will win a place on LIV Golf next season.
Most inputs taken from tournament's press release