S’woods pads lead to 9

BAGUIO City—Carl Corpus birdied three of his last four holes under gathering dusk for a two-over-par 63 worth 34 points on Friday and towed Manila Southwoods to a third-round 123 that opened up a nine-point lead over Forest Hills heading into the final round of the 68th Department of Tourism Fil-Am Invitational.

The youthful Corpus rescued what would have been a ho-hum round at tough Baguio Country Club with that swashbuckling finish, giving the defending champions a breather as they take a 424 aggregate in the final 18 holes on Saturday.

Aidric Chan contributed 32 points, Tom Kim fired 30 and either 27s of the veteran Jun Jun Plana or Paolo Wong counted for Southwoods, which trailed by seven in the opening round on Tuesday.

Jude Eustaquio, the former US NCAA Division I standout who was the star for Forest Hills in the first round, matched par for 36 points in a 118 effort.

“It’s not really a very comfortable lead,” Southwoods team official Thirdy Escaño said. “But I am confident that they will deliver [on Saturday].”