Miguel Tabuena stays 3rd with a 72

TAIPEI—Young rookie pro Miguel Tabuena bucked poor putting to match par 72 and keep third place after three rounds of the $600,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters here Saturday.

The 17-year-old Filipino, the youngest Asian Tour member, missed a five-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and wound up with a 54-hole total of 210, still six shots behind leader Lu Wei-chih of Taiwan.

Tabuena and Japanese Daisuke Kataoka, who fired a 69, trailed the second-running Thaworn Wiratchant by two strokes as the Thai shot a 71.

Juvic Pagunsan rallied with a 70 and joined Tabuena in the top 10 with a 214 total that lifted him into a two-way tie for eighth place.

Angelo Que (74) and Artemio Murakami (71) were tied for 20th at 217, Elmer Salvador (72) was a stroke behind at 218 while Antonio Lascuña (74) was another shot back at 219.

“I got off to a very good start. Then I bogeyed number nine. I missed a short putt there. It was a pretty good round but I could have done better,” said Tabuena.

“My putting let me down. I missed a lot of makeable birdies, a lot of five footers which I should have made, ” he added.

Lu shot a hole-in-one on the eighth hole with a six iron before adding two bogeys for an even-par 72 on his home course, the Taiwan Golf and Country Club.