Dante Becierra turned in the day’s best score of one-under par 70 and moved within two strokes off Edgar Oh of Singapore in the third round of the Singapore Open Amateur Championship at the Warren Golf and Country Club in Singapore, Thursday.
Five behind the local bet at the start of the round, Becierra bucked an opening hole bogey with three straight birdies, including a pitch-in at the 220-yard par-3 No. 7, a tap-in on the par-5 No. 8 which he reached in two and a 26-footer on the ninth, which he double-bogeyed the previous round.
“My all-around game just clicked and I made a couple of lucky birdies,” said Becierra, who had a 219, in Filipino. “I could have done better but I missed a couple of birdie putts inside six feet.”
Oh remained on top despite a second straight two-over 73 for a 217 as the field continued to struggle under tough playing condition at the tight par-71 layout with Ashbeer Singh Saini, two behind Oh at the halfway way, fumbling with a 76 and tumbling to joint fifth at 222 in a tie with Jerome Ng of Singapore and Rashin Khan of India, who both had 71s.
Nay Bala Win of Myanmar and Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka were tied at third with 220s after a 71 and a 73, respectively.
The 23-year-old top ICTSI-The Country Club bet is seeking his first international crown since sweeping Hong Kong’s premier amateur events – the HK Amateur Open and the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau International Amateur Open – in 2007.
“I need to stay focused and try to keep it close and let’s see what happens,” said Becierra, trying to become the first Filipino to win here since Michael Bibat ruled the event in 2004.
Mhark Fernando made a 33 at the back and salvaged a 75 for 225 for eighth while ICTSI-Cangolf teammate Jessie Balasabas stood in jointh 18th with a 228 after a 75.
But while Becierra moved up from joint ninth to solo second, ICTSI teammates Justin Limjap (78-233) and Brent Sumampong (82-239) floundered heading into the final round of the 72-hole championship.
Davao's Jhonnel Ababa had a 235 after 78.(pr)
Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Becierra 5 shots off as Fernando falters, Davao's Ababa hardly moves up
Former Hong Kong Amateur Open champion Dante Becierra came out a bit better in a day of soaring scores, carding a four-over par 75 to trail new leader Edgar Oh by five strokes midway through the Singapore Open Amateur Championship at the Warren Golf and Country Club in Singapore, Wednesday.
With Mhark Fernando hobbling with an eight-over 79 and tumbling down from joint second to share of 11th, Becierra took the challenger’s role with a 149, vowing to make a charge in the final two rounds in pursuit of his first win after scoring back-to-back victories in Hong Kong in 2007.
“The course is too tough with its tight fairways and thick roughs. It’s risky to hit it with a driver but you’ll give up length with a 3-wood off the mound. So it’s a gamble and I’ll try to give it a shot in the last two days,” said Becierra, who also won three low amateur honors on the ICTSI-PGT circuit back home.
Oh flashed his familiarity with the demanding layout although the local bet faltered with four bogeys against two birdies for a two-over 73 that proved enough to shove him to the top with a 144.
That was two strokes up on Indian Ashbeer Singh Saini, who turned in the day’s best score of one-over 72 for a 146 while another local entry George Anthony Foo tied erstwhile leader Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka at 147 after a 75.
Perera, impressive with a one-under 70 in the first round, fumbled with a bogey-littered six-over 77. Hamza Amin of Pakistan also wavered with a 76 to join Foo and Perera in third.
Becierra, the top ICTSI-backed bet searching for his first international win since scoring back-to-back in Hong Kong in 2007, actually turned in a solid start of one-under 35. But he double-bogeyed No. 11, dropped two more strokes on No. 14 then bogeyed the difficult 18th for a 40 and a 75.
Worse was Fernando, the ICTSI-Cangolf standout who had a decent one-over 36 at the back where he teed off. But the former national champion back home found the going tough at the front, bogeying the first three holes, dropping two strokes on No. 4 before holing out with another double-bogey mishap for an awful 43.
Jessie Balasabas slid from 21st to joint 26th at 153 after a six-over 77 in a round marred by a triple-bogey 8 on No. 15, a double bogey on No. 2 and five bogeys against four birdies.
Justin Limjap, one of the new members of the ICTSI-The Country Club team, limped with an 80 for joint 32nd at 155 while Davao's Jhonnel Ababa hardly moved up with a 77 and a 157 in a tie with Brent Sumampong, who also made an 80.(pr)
With Mhark Fernando hobbling with an eight-over 79 and tumbling down from joint second to share of 11th, Becierra took the challenger’s role with a 149, vowing to make a charge in the final two rounds in pursuit of his first win after scoring back-to-back victories in Hong Kong in 2007.
“The course is too tough with its tight fairways and thick roughs. It’s risky to hit it with a driver but you’ll give up length with a 3-wood off the mound. So it’s a gamble and I’ll try to give it a shot in the last two days,” said Becierra, who also won three low amateur honors on the ICTSI-PGT circuit back home.
Oh flashed his familiarity with the demanding layout although the local bet faltered with four bogeys against two birdies for a two-over 73 that proved enough to shove him to the top with a 144.
That was two strokes up on Indian Ashbeer Singh Saini, who turned in the day’s best score of one-over 72 for a 146 while another local entry George Anthony Foo tied erstwhile leader Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka at 147 after a 75.
Perera, impressive with a one-under 70 in the first round, fumbled with a bogey-littered six-over 77. Hamza Amin of Pakistan also wavered with a 76 to join Foo and Perera in third.
Becierra, the top ICTSI-backed bet searching for his first international win since scoring back-to-back in Hong Kong in 2007, actually turned in a solid start of one-under 35. But he double-bogeyed No. 11, dropped two more strokes on No. 14 then bogeyed the difficult 18th for a 40 and a 75.
Worse was Fernando, the ICTSI-Cangolf standout who had a decent one-over 36 at the back where he teed off. But the former national champion back home found the going tough at the front, bogeying the first three holes, dropping two strokes on No. 4 before holing out with another double-bogey mishap for an awful 43.
Jessie Balasabas slid from 21st to joint 26th at 153 after a six-over 77 in a round marred by a triple-bogey 8 on No. 15, a double bogey on No. 2 and five bogeys against four birdies.
Justin Limjap, one of the new members of the ICTSI-The Country Club team, limped with an 80 for joint 32nd at 155 while Davao's Jhonnel Ababa hardly moved up with a 77 and a 157 in a tie with Brent Sumampong, who also made an 80.(pr)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Fernando heads RP bid in Singapore Open Am, Davao's Ababa also in the fold
Former national champion Mhark Fernando will be among the marked men when the Singapore Amateur Open Championship is fired off beginning Tuesday at the Warren Golf and Country Club course in Singapore.
Fernando has been tipped as among the favorites in the four-day championship by the local media along with Malaysian Jeremiah Kim, who recently won the Singapore junior crown, Nay Bala Win Mying of Myanmar, Hamza Amin of Pakistan and Mithu Perera of Sri Lanka and local bets Jerome Ng and Koh Dengshan.
The veteran Filipino campaigner drew a 7:55 a.m. tee-off on No. 1 in the company of Winston Wu of Hong Kong, Amin and Perera.
Dante Becierra, on the other hand, hopes to come up with a strong start as he seeks to end a three-year title drought after scoring back-to-back victories in the Hong Kong Amateur Open and the HK Jockey Club Championship in 2004.
Becierra will start at the backside of the rolling par-72 layout in the 8:16 a.m. flight that includes Safdar Khan of Pakistan, Ong Chew Meng of Singapore and ICTSI teammate Brent Sumampong.
Davao's Jhonnel Ababa is also in the fold along with Jessie Balasabas, the low amateur in the recent Aboitiz Invitational of the ICTSI-PGT circuit, Miguel Tabuena and Justin Limjap with the Filipinos campaign sponsored by ICTSI and sanctioned by the National Golf Association of the Phils.(pr)
Fernando has been tipped as among the favorites in the four-day championship by the local media along with Malaysian Jeremiah Kim, who recently won the Singapore junior crown, Nay Bala Win Mying of Myanmar, Hamza Amin of Pakistan and Mithu Perera of Sri Lanka and local bets Jerome Ng and Koh Dengshan.
The veteran Filipino campaigner drew a 7:55 a.m. tee-off on No. 1 in the company of Winston Wu of Hong Kong, Amin and Perera.
Dante Becierra, on the other hand, hopes to come up with a strong start as he seeks to end a three-year title drought after scoring back-to-back victories in the Hong Kong Amateur Open and the HK Jockey Club Championship in 2004.
Becierra will start at the backside of the rolling par-72 layout in the 8:16 a.m. flight that includes Safdar Khan of Pakistan, Ong Chew Meng of Singapore and ICTSI teammate Brent Sumampong.
Davao's Jhonnel Ababa is also in the fold along with Jessie Balasabas, the low amateur in the recent Aboitiz Invitational of the ICTSI-PGT circuit, Miguel Tabuena and Justin Limjap with the Filipinos campaign sponsored by ICTSI and sanctioned by the National Golf Association of the Phils.(pr)
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