Zheng, Tabuena go low to catch up with Thai star in Philippines
PUBLISHED : 26 Oct 2025 at 06:21
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Still Sizzling: Sarit Suwannarut tees off during the third round of the 2025 International Series Philippines. ASIAN TOUR
Manila: Sampson Zheng set up a fascinating final-round contest in the US$2 million International Series Philippines with home hero Miguel Tabuena and the in-form Sarit Suwannarut after a sensational 10-under-par 62 in the third round on Saturday.
Thailand’s Sarit (69), a two-time International Series winner, had started the day four shots ahead of Tabuena and Kazuki Higa, but he was caught on moving day by the fast-charging Zheng, and Tabuena (65), who made two eagles during the round.
The leading trio were on 17-under 199 at the Sta Elena Golf Club, one shot ahead of Japan’s Yosuke Asaji (65), while South Africa’s LIV Golf star Dean Burmester (65) and another in-form star Higa (68) were tied fifth at 14-under 202.
India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar (67) made a bogey on his closing hole but advanced to seventh place alone at 13-under, one ahead of Australia’s Marc Leishman (65).
China’s 24-year-old Zheng rode a hot putter and jumped into contention with a round that featured eight birdies and an eagle on the par-five eighth hole. The round included four straight birdies from the 14th to 17th holes, followed by a crucial par save on his final hole when he two-putted from 45 feet.
“I just hit a lot of greens and made a lot of putts. I honestly didn’t feel like I did anything super special, but I just stuck to the game plan. Hit a lot of greens, hit a lot of shots very close, and fortunately made some putts,” said Zheng, whose best finish on the Asian Tour is a tied for second at the Indonesia Open and a tied for fourth in the International Series in England, last year.
In Friday’s second round, Tabuena made a hole-in-one and an eagle, and he followed up on Saturday with eagles on the par-five third and 16th holes. On the third, Tabuena smashed a four-iron from 257 yards and hit a five-iron from 235 yards downwind on the 16th.
Tabuena said: “To be honest, I totally forgot my score out there. I was just cruising and found myself in a real flow state — which is exactly what I wanted to achieve at the start of the day. I didn’t want to think about my score or what the other players were doing. I just wanted to focus on my own game and execute my plan, and it was nice to be able to do that today.”
After making 16 birdies in his first 36 holes, Sarit could add only five in the third round, apart from two bogeys — one of which came on the par-five eighth.
“It was a tough day. I didn’t hit my driver as well as the first two days, and the pins were a little bit tougher. So, I’ll say overall solid, but not as good as I wanted,” said the 27-year-old, who was leading by four shots the previous week in Macao, but finished tied fourth.
“I feel the same as I was in Macao. The number I have to shoot to be able to win, I’m just going to focus on that and try to do my best to outplay the other guys. Not only the other two guys, but also you can see how low everyone is scoring on Sunday. Someone could shoot 10-under again and jump up the leaderboard. But yeah, I’m going to play my best, and let’s see what happens after that.”
Former world No.1 Dustin Johnson shot a four-under 68 to move up to a tie for 26th place at eight under.