Frenchman Julien Sale rules 2025 Philippine Open, Filipino Miguel Tabuena slides to 5th

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French golf standout Julien Sale opens a world of opportunities for his budding career after ruling the $500,000 Philippine Open at Manila Southwoods, while local bet Miguel Tabuena settles for fifth

CARMONA, Philippines – French golf standout Julien Sale birdied his first three holes on the back nine to control the pack and finish with a five-under-par 65 on Sunday, January 26, to rule the $500,000 2025 Philippine Open at the Masters course of the Manila Southwoods.

The 27-year-old bagged his first pro title on his first Asian Tour event with a 269-point total after edging out Japan’s Tomoyo Ikemura and Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana, both of whom had chances of forcing a playoff with eagles on the last hole.

Ikemura, who held the overnight lead, and Kaewkanjana, the leader after the first two rounds, settled for birdies on the par-5 of the 18th hole for 68 and 67 points, respectively, even as Miguel Tabuena fired a 66 and still wound up as the best-placed Filipino just four shots off Sale.

“I have been playing well all week,” Sale said, acknowledging that opportunities have opened with the win, starting with the lucrative International Series in India next week.

“This is big for my career, because now I can plan my calendar and play every (Asian Tour) event I want to play in. This certainly changes the path of my career.”

Filipino Miguel Tabuena finishes fifth

Ikemura started the day with a one-shot lead over Kaewkanjana and a couple of others. He had a bogey-free closing round but just couldn’t pick up the shots when he needed to, allowing Sale to lead by as many as three shots heading into the closing holes.

Kaewkanjana, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, even held the lead early with birdies on Nos. 3 and 4, only to drop two shots on the dogleg left sixth before seeing a dogged rally fall short.

Tabuena, meanwhile, fought it out on another sweltering day to finish in the fifth place tie and get his season off on a strong note as he also sees action in India for the $2 million event.

“I’m still really happy with my performance this week,” said Tabuena, who was 11 shots off the lead after the halfway cut. “I’m excited for this year. This is the first tournament out of 25 that you will play, and I believe it’s going to be a good year.”

Aidric Chan also carved out a 66 to be in another group that finished another shot behind Tabuena’s even as Justin Quiban suffered some misfortunes in the middle of the round and settled for a 70 to finish outside of the top 10, seven shots off the winner.

Filipino-Japanese Shinichi Suzuki, a member of the victorious Philippine Putra Cup team, won the low amateur race with a 286 total after a 72. – Rappler.com