HONG KONG – Dottie Ardina shot a 68 and Jayvie Agojo bounced back with a 70 as the Philippines survived another backside meltdown with a 213 to pad its lead to three over Thailand in the third round of the Santi Cup of the Southeast Asia Amateur Golf Team Championships here, Thursday.
Andie Unson made a birdie-less 75, the same output put in by Dabawenya Chihiro Ikeda, who sputtered with a 39 at the back, including a final hole bogey, with one of those five-over cards counting for the team’s 213 and a 54-hole total of 629.
Thailand, two shots adrift at the start of the round, pressed its bid at the back despite falling farther behind by five after nine holes. But Pavarisa Yoktuan failed to match teammates Pinrath Loomboonruang and Panitta Yusabai’s solid finishes and ended up with a 38 for a 74.
Loomboonruang rebounded from a triple-bogey 8 on No. 2 with five birdies in the last 14 holes, finishing with a 68 and preserving a one-stroke lead (204) over Ardina (205) in the individual race. Yusabai fought back from a 39 with a 33 for a 72 while Yoktuan counted despite a 74 for Thailand’s 214 and 632.
“Chihiro simply lost her focus at the back, missing a lot of putts but Dottie remains as solid as ever. Jayvie also made a good account of herself after two poor rounds while I hope Andie to bounce back tomorrow (Friday),” said national team and ICTSI golf squad coach Bong Lopez.
The ICTSI-backed ladies team, whose campaign along with the men’s and junior squads, is sanctioned by the National Golf Association of the Phils. and supported by ICTSI and the Philippine Sports Commission, gained three more strokes over Thailand at the turn with an even-par aggregate as Ardina made a 33 and Agojo and Ikeda shot 36s. Unson made a 37.
But Ikeda made three straight bogeys from No. 11 and Unson bogeyed three of the first four holes. Agojo hit a birdie on No. 14 and parred the last four holes for a 70 while Ardina bogeyed No. 13 but birdie the 16th to preserve a two-under round.
“This is very interesting. I missed a couple of birdie putts and made some poor shots but overall, it’s another good round,” said Ardina in Filipino.
Malaysia improved to third but stood too far behind at 654 after a 212, making the final round a shootout between the Filipinas and the Thais. Hong Kong slid to fourth with a 659 after a 229 followed by Singapore (223-668) and Indonesia (226-683).
Meanwhile, the national junior team moved one rung up to fourth with a 222 for a 667 but virtually yielded the Santi Cup crown as it remained 18 strokes behind Thailand.
The Putra Cup team, on the other hand, remained in the cellar with a 662 after a 219 although it closed within Thailand, which has a 659 after a 222, in a surprise duel of the region’s top teams at the tailend of the seven-team field with Myanmar barely ahead of the duo with a 657 after a 223.
Singapore unleashed a fiery third round charge as four players broke par with Jerome Ng’s 69 failing to count. Marc Ong led the attack with a 66, Tze Huang Choo shot a 67 and Gregory Foo carded a 68 for a nine-under 201 and a 54-hole aggregate of 630 as the Singaporeans grabbed a two-shot lead over halfway leader Hong Kong, who slid to second with a 632 despite a solid two-under 208.
Indonesia was far behind in third with a 641 after a 216 while Malaysia lay just a stroke behind at 642 after a 215.
Lloyd Go, a revelation from Cebu, matched par 70 to emerge the top scorer for the men’s team with Zanie Boy Gialon and Art Arbole adding 74 and 75, respectively, and John Kier Abdon out for the third straight time with a 78.
Andres Saldaña, meanwhile, led the juniors squad with a 73, Gio Gandionco made a 74 and either Rupert Zaragoza or Clyde Mondilla’s 75 counted for the team’s 222 and a 667.
The defending champion got past Singapore (229-671) and Hong Kong (231-693) but was too way behind Thailand, which braced for a final round shootout with Malaysia with a 649 after a 220. The Malaysians rallied with a 213 to move within three at 652. Indonesia is in third with a 662 after a 223.(pr)
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