As he waited in the score recording room for overnight leader Rashid Khan to finish — an eagle on the 18th for Rashid would have led to a playoff — Miguel Tabuena, anxious as he knows Rashid’s tenacity to pull it back, used the time to rewind.
Last year, Tabuena chose family over golf, and missed close to six months of action on the Asian Tour to tend to his sick father.
Related: Decade down, Rashid Khan in with another shot at glory
On Sunday, life paid the Filipino back as golf’s chosen one at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) on Sunday. Among the first phone calls The DGC Open champion made back home after the anointment was to his father and make him soak in the moment.
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After what the family went through, having him in their midst is counted as a blessing. “He (father) went through a lot last year, we are lucky to have made it,” said Miguel after his third win on Tour.
If the dry run between his second win at Thailand in 2018 and this one has been a test of patience, so was the week at DGC.
Six behind Rashid overnight, playing “perfect golf” or matching the tournament’s best card of 65 wasn’t on the agenda. What occupied Tabuena this week was a rerun of the times he has traversed at home.
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Patience it was, especially at a venue like DGC, “which is not a sprint but sticking it out for 72 holes”.
“DGC is among the hardest to play on the Asian Tour, it wears you down physically and mentally,” said Tabuena.
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The seemingly calm exterior on Sunday was hardly an indication of the storm brewing within. Birdies on the 15th and 16th were the game-changers and led to soothing of nerves to an extent.
The Lal Bangla trophy was his, but there is no time to relax. “A win leaves you hungrier and makes you work harder to be your best self.”
