Graeme McDowell needs to produce something special over the next three days if he is to keep his Open Championship dream alive at the International Series Macau.
McDowell carded a two-over 72 to lie nine shots behind early leader Patrick Reed and in a share of 111th place with the top-3 players booking spots at Royal Portrush after Sunday’s final round.
Reed’s affinity for the Greater Bay Area was evident once more today after he shot a majestic seven-under-par 63 to take the first-round lead.
Four months ago the American claimed the Link Hong Kong Open, helped by a spectacular 59 on the third day, and he was unstoppable again today, overcoming Macau Golf and Country Club with seven birdies and no bogeys.
He made a birdie on the fourth and then made three in a row from the sixth, before another came on 13. On the last his 20 footer for an eagle just finished short.
He added: “These greens got kind of really fast, and with some of those pin locations there on the back nine, you had to put the ball in the right spot, because it’s hard to putt from above the hole. And I was able to do a nice job on that. Hit a couple close and, you know, kind of had a stress free seven-under par today.”
Tabuena shook off the effects of a 3.45am wake-up call and an uncharacteristic missed one-foot putt on his first hole to set the bar early on.
The Filipino, who made eight birdies against two bogeys, said: “Woke up at 3.45, got in the gym at 4.10. Did some stretching; did some activation stuff, yeah, but it’s routine. The game feels really good except for my three putt on the first hole, which was number 10. Missed it from a foot. So that was pretty funny. I just laughed it out.”
He rallied and made the turn in two under, with four birdies and two bogeys, before finding his rhythm on the second half with birdies on three, four, seven and eight.
“My game’s in a good spot, but it’s still very early in the tournament. There’s three more days, and hopefully I can continue this form,” he said.
“It is about playing the par fives well here. If you score on the par fires, I think you’ll do well. And you must understand where the wind is blowing, because it’s really bouncing around the mountains here, especially in the morning. I took advantage because it was pretty calm this morning.”
He is looking for his first win on the Asian Tour since The DGC Open presented by Mastercard in 2023. He’s had seven top fives since then so a win may well be just around the corner.
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