Salvador grabs 1-shot Riviera lead

SILANG, Cavite—Making up for a poor stint off the tees with a superb iron game, Elmer Salvador fired a five-under-par 66 Friday to take a one-stroke lead over Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand and sentimental favorite Robert Pactolerin going into the final round of the ICTSI Riviera Classic here.

With the usually demanding Langer layout playing softer because of another rainy day, Salvador targeted the pins with precision, gunning down four straight birdies to bridge the two nines and highlight his round for a 205 going into today’s final 18 holes.

“The keys were my iron game and my putting,” Salvador, the taciturn former Philippine Open champion who has not won since August last year in Cebu, said in Filipino. “I was very careful with my yardages because the course was playing soft.”

Tangkamolprasert gunned down six birdies for a 67 and Pactolerin, the 1990 Open champion, cracked par for the third straight day with a 68 to remain on course for a first title since winning at the Marapara in Bacolod in September 2011.

“It is going to be a tough final round with all the good players in the field,” Salvador said.

The other backers of the event are Nike Golf, Pacsports Phils., Srixon, Callaway, Mizuno, Empire Golf, Footjoy, Titleist, Custom Clubmakers, Sharp and KZG with ABS-CBN, Balls and Inquirer Golf  as media partners.