Driving, putting woes continue to hound Tabuena in LIV Golf Singapore

Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines lines a putt in round 3 of the International Series Philippines golf tournament at the Sta. Elena Golf Club in Santa Rosa, Laguna province on October 25, 2025.

Ted Aljibe / AFP

MANILA, Philippines — Miguel Tabuena continued to struggle with both his long game and putting, limping with a two-over 73 to slip further down the leaderboard midway through the LIV Golf Singapore at the Sentosa Golf Club on Friday.

Tabuena’s erratic ball-striking repeatedly left him scrambling for pars, and when opportunities came, his putter again let him down. The Filipino star missed a pair of short par putts early, setting the tone for another frustrating round that saw him tumble 13 spots to joint 44th in the 57-man field with a 145 total after opening with a 72.

While Tabuena battled inconsistency, Bryson DeChambeau unleashed his trademark power to seize control of the $30-million tournament, including the team championship.

DeChambeau eagled the par-5 fourth hole on his way to a sizzling 65, breaking away from a three-way tie for the lead to reach a 10-under-par 132 aggregate.

The big-hitting American now holds a three-shot lead over a chasing pack that includes reigning Hong Kong leg champion Jon Rahm. The former World No. 1 shot a 68 to move to 135, tied for second with Thomas Detry and Louis Oosthuizen, who both fired 67s.

Also within striking distance are Lee Westwood and Richard Lee after matching 68s, while Marc Leishman, Matthew Wolff and Charles Howell III sit another stroke back at 136 following identical 68s in this fourth leg of the LIV Golf 2026 season.

For Tabuena, however, another over-par round means he faces yet another uphill battle over the weekend as he tries to improve on his joint 52nd-place finish in last week’s Hong Kong event.

Starting at the back of the par-71 layout, Tabuena briefly steadied himself with a gritty par save from the fringe on the 11th. But his shaky putting soon resurfaced as he failed to convert makeable par attempts in the next two holes.

He birdied the 13th but gave the shot back with a bogey on No. 15. The Filipino showed some resilience with birdies on the 16th and 18th, only to stumble again on the front side.

Tabuena bogeyed the opening hole for the second straight day, and after a stretch of pars, another missed opportunity led to a bogey on the fifth, underscoring his ongoing difficulties both off the tee and on the greens.

Despite a late effort to steady his round, the combination of inconsistent long-game execution and costly misses on the greens prevented him from mounting any significant climb up the leaderboard under another scorching day in Singapore.