Anthony Kim joining the 4Aces has had a positive knock-on effect for Miguel Tabuena and he's landed a full-time LIV Golf card for the season.
The 31-year-old just narrowly missed out on qualifying for LIV Golf when he finished third in the International Series rankings on the Asian Tour last year - with just the top two getting cards.
He won his home International Series event in the Philippines and his performances during the season earned him a LIV Golf debut in Riyadh as a reserve last week.
Tabuena filled the spot on the 4Aces team left by Patrick Reed's exit - with that place in Dustin Johnson's side now taken up full-time by Anthony Kim.
That still left a place in the league to be filled though, and Tabuena has won it to become the first Filipino to earn a LIV Golf card.
“This is really huge for me, my goal last year was to win an International Series event, and I did it," said Tabuena, who will play the rest of the LIV Golf season as a wild card.
"That win opened up so many opportunities, including playing bigger events like the Saudi International, and it also gave me a real chance to push for promotion.
“This opportunity also proves that The International Series is a real pathway to LIV Golf. I didn’t earn the automatic spot straight away, but I played well across the season, and the LIV team saw that.
"It shows that if you compete on the Asian Tour and perform in The International Series, doors can open, even for players coming through Q School.”
Tabuena is a four-time winner on the Asian Tour, most notably when winning in front of his home fans back in October, which pushed him into a challenge for one of the two automatic qualifying spots into LIV.
Although he didn't make it at first, he's now in the line-up at LIV Golf Adelaide as one of a number of Asian Tour plays to make it including Scott Vincent, Yosuke Asaji, Richard Lee and Bjorn Hellgren.
Reed's surprise departure left Johnson's 4Aces with a big hole to fill, but Kim looks like he could be a good fit as he continues his resurgence after spending 12 years out of the game.
For Tabuena it's a great opportunity now to make a name for himself and cash in on the lucrative team-based tour for the rest of the campaign.
