Dutchman Guido Van der Valk birdied three of the last five holes then watched Jay Bayron stumble with three straight bogeys from No. 15 to move on the threshold of a breakthrough victory in the Philippine Golf Tour.
The Manila-based Van der Valk carded a 1-under-par 71 at the Faldo layout and surged ahead of Bayron, who landed at 76 following a 40 at the back, going to the last round of the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Challenge in Gen. Trias, Cavite.
Sustaining the form that gave him back-to-back third place finishes in the TCC Invitational and the 100th Solaire Philippine Open, Van der Valk pooled a 54-hole 218 total, two up on Bayron.
Michael Bibat and American Nicolas Paez shared third spot in the P2.5-million event following a 73 and 74, respectively.
Reeling from a triple bogey on No. 16, Tony Lascuña hobbled with a 77 and skidded to joint fifth with Omar Dungca, who matched par 72, and Richard Sinfuego, who rallied with a 71, at 221.
Pre-tournament favorite Jhonnel Ababa tallied his third straight 74 and lagged behind at 222 in the kickoff leg of this year’s PGT Tour.
The 38-year-old Van der Valk, who is hoping to surpass his playoff loss to Lascuna and Korean-American Micah Shin in the Bacolod leg in 2016, attributed his strong showing to accurate putting. —ROY LUARCA