Quiban, Tabuena stumble late, miss cut at Saudi Int’l

Disaster struck for Justin Quiban and Miguel Tabuena in the closing event of the Asian Tour and International Series as they stumbled in challenging conditions during their final nine holes at the PIF Saudi International on Thursday, missing the cut.

Logan McAllister of the US dazzled with a tournament-best 63, joining Cameron Smith (64), Joaquin Niemann (66), and International Series Doha champion Peter Uihlein (65) in a four-way tie for the lead at 11-under 131.

Tyrrell Hatton also surged with a 63, placing himself in a strong position alongside Steve Lewton (65), Jason Kokrak (66), and Travis Smyth (66), all tied for fifth, setting the stage for an intense final 36 holes of the $5 million championship.

Both Quiban and Tabuena appeared poised to make the last two rounds, starting with decent opening rounds of 69 at the Riyadh Golf Club, leaving them in a tie for 47th on Wednesday. However, their fortunes changed on the closing front nine.

Quiban got off to a promising start, carding birdies on two of his first seven holes. However, his momentum faltered with a bogey on the 17th, followed by two more dropped shots in the first seven holes of the front nine, which significantly derailed his bid.

The real setback came on the 175-yard par-3 eighth hole, where he struggled to a disastrous 9. This major mishap contributed to a disappointing eight-over 79, dropping him to 117th place with a total score of 148.

Tabuena’s start was even more promising, carding three-under through six holes. But back-to-back bogeys at 17 and a string of errors on the front nine saw him finish with a 73, totaling even-par 142 for joint 89th.

Poor putting also plagued the ICTSI-backed campaigner, with three costly three-putts in his final stretch, sealing his exit from the competition.