Another Japanese player, Yosuke Asaji (66), Korea’s Soomin Lee (67), Chinese Taipei’s Wang Wei-hsuan (67) and Hong Kong’s Matthew Cheung (67) were tied for fourth at 9-under, while New Zealand’s Denzel Ieremia (67), Reed (66) and India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar (69) were tied for eighth. It made for a truly international leaderboard as players from nine countries made the top 10.
England’s Steve Lewton shot the lowest round of the tournament so far at the beautiful Sta. Elena Golf Club, a bogey-free 63 that made up for a disappointing 2-over 74 in the opening round.
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)” said Sarit, who made only one bogey on each of the first two days. “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.
“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.”
Tabuena, who shot a 69 on Thursday, started from the 10th tee with a birdie, but was galloping when he holed his tee shot on the par-3 14th, and then eagled the par-five 16th. He then birdied the 18th, second and third in a round of 65 that lifted him to 10-under par total at the halfway stage.
Golf fans in the Philippines turned up in huge numbers for the tournament, and they were rewarded as the home favourite 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 on a hole where he has forgotten the count of how many he has scored so far in his career.
“It’s not every day you make a hole-in-one, but I was glad I kept it together after that,” said the three-time winner on the Asian Tour, who had to pull out of the SJM Macao Open with a neck spasm. “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.
“And then the eagle on the 16th. That was a perfect seven-wood for me. I don’t know how many times I’ve eagled that hole, so it’s very familiar for me. And that is my favourite pin position for that hole, so it was very green light for me. … I slowed down quite a bit after the birdies on the second and third. But other than that, it was a pretty solid round. The plan was to get back in position for moving day tomorrow.”
Higa, bogey-free on Thursday, dropped two shots in his second round, but kept moving forward with five birdies.
“I struggled a lot on the greens, had so many chances but holed almost nothing,” said Higa, who is currently second on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. “But even after missing some short putts to make bogey, I managed to make a few good birdies. It was a little bit frustrating, but I just had to be patient.
“I have talked about it before, I want to play well in International Series events. However, it’s just halfway. So just trying to keep the good feeling like today, and try to shoot some good scores.”
The International Series Philippines is the sixth of nine elevated events on the 2025 Asian Tour schedule.
