STA. ROSA, Laguna, Philippines — Miguel Tabuena stood his ground and maintained his lead despite a 76-degree temperature as winds were strong throughout the TCC Invitational here yesterday.

Following a spectacular eight-under 64 day on Tuesday, Tabuena and the rest of the elite group faced unstoppable winds throughout the day on The Country Club course, which led to incredible scores.

The 12-shot change was not enough nevertheless, The double Philippine Open champion stayed in control, finishing at four-under 140. four strokes ahead from Tony Lascuna, who also struggled with the backside wind by a 38 for 72 and 144.2.

“Today (yesterday) is hard for me, but I believe that everyone else is too,” said Tabuena who made nine birdies to Bogey to set the course record for the opening round.

“But there’s a typical day at TCC during this time of year. But I’m pretty satisfied with how I played and pretty pleased about my result. I’m on the right track going into the final 2 rounds.” said Tabuena, who shot a birdie-free 39-37 card that was marred by six bogeys and a tally of 63, but also marked by an eagle blast on No. 10.

“Grabe ang kondisyon, ang hirap. Pipilitin natin ang hindi,” said Lascuna, who is also looking for redemption after losing his ICTSI TCC Match Play crown to Tabuena in November.

Clyde Mondilla fought back strongly from a first struggle of three bogeys in the first seven holes and birdied the holes Nos. 8, 10, and 13 to make Lascuna in second place on even par. However, this year’s Philippine Open champion bogeyed the 17th, a par-3 hole, and slipped to third place at 145.

Rupert Zaragosa blew an even-par card, securing bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16, as his 74 was a fourth place at 147. Meanwhile, the PGT Order of Merit title holder Jhonnel Ababa and Rico Depilo squandered a pair of even-par cards, which had wavering finishings to fall to joint fifth position at the 148 mark.