FINALLY playing bogey-free, Elmer Salvador was at his best yesterday, shooting a four-under-par 68 to zoom to a three-stroke lead over Antonio Lascuña going into the final round of the P3.5 million ICTSI Tournament Players Championship.
After seven total bogeys in the first 36 holes, the former Philippine Open champion Salvador was flawless when it counted most, returning a 35-33 effort for 207 overall, nine-under-par over the punishing Wack Wack East layout in Mandaluyong.
Lascuña was the one who had a roller-coaster round, firing a level 72 after five birdies and the same number of bogeys to lose a grip and be forced to play catch-up as he attempts to end his dominant season on a smashing note.
With a fourth Order of Merit title already in the bag with pursuers Clyde Mondilla and Jay Bayron way out of contention here, Lascuña is aiming to reclaim the OOM title in style but would need to turn back one of the hottest players on tour in the last three weeks.
“I felt I couldn’t do anything wrong out there today,” the taciturn Salvador, a former caddy at Apo Golf in Davao, said in Filipino after he saved par from the bunker a total of five time in the front nine.