Filipino golfer Antonio Lascuna. ROMY HOMILLADA
MANILA, Philippines—With a putting stroke that was right on target practically all day, Singaporean Mardan Mamat barely kept the lead in the 96th ICTSI Philippine Open Saturday over a Filipino teenager who stepped up to not only contend but also become the new hometown hero.
The 44-year-old Mamat scrambled well enough to assemble a second straight two-under-par 70 for a 209 total after 54 holes with the 17-year-old Miguel Tabuena just a shot back heading into today’s final 18 holes of Asia’s oldest national championship at Wack Wack East.
Tabuena, who turned pro last year after bagging a silver medal in the 2010 Asian Games, had seven birdies in a tournament-best 67 for a 210 aggregate with his three-putt bogey on the 17th green costing him a share of the lead he forged with a blazing start from four down at the start of the day.
Korean veteran Mo Joong-kyung churned out a 68 and stood another shot back at 211.
The closest contenders behind Mo were five strokes behind as another shakeup threw all the Filipino veterans by the wayside, including Antonio Lascuña and Mars Pucay, who languished at 218 after a 76 and a 74, respectively.
Ferdie Aunzo, who like Lascuña teed off just three shots behind Mamat, kissed his championship chances goodbye after a horrendous 79 for 221, one shot behind a six-man group that included Angelo Que (71) and Elmer Salvador 75.
That gave Tabuena, who was in the penultimate group, all the chance to shine.
Tabuena was in a zone, knocking down all seven of his birdies in his first 11 holes as he opened up his homeward trip with back-to-back 3s after hitting the turn with a 32. But he missed his approach on the 17th by hitting it thick and leaving himself with a wicked 50-footer and the three-putt bogey.
Mamat also failed to save par on the 17th when he missed a 10-foot putt after a pulled drive with a 3-wood and an approach that needed to clear several trees coming from the thick left side rough.
But that was his only bad performance on a green as he drained several crucial par-rescuing putts, none bigger than a curling 20-footer on the eighth, the infamous “Camel Back” hole, after he found the left greenside bunker off the tee.
“That was an unbelievable putt,” said the soft-spoken Mamat, a two-time Asian Tour winner, who kissed his putter after sinking another long putt for par on the 14th.
“I had a great putting day in scoring a 70. Yesterday (second round), I had a terrible putting day but hit it well and managed to put up a 70 as well.”
The leading scores (Filipino unless stated): 209—M. Mamat (Sin) 69-70-70; 210—M. Tabuena 71-72-67; 211—Mo JK (Kor) 72-71-68; 216—Hwang IC (Kor) 77-72-67, B. Fox (USA) 69-73-74; 217—A. Yano (JPN) 69-75-73, P. Donahoo (Aus) 71-72-74; 218—B. Henson (USA) 73-73-72, Kim GW (Kor) 71-75-72, M. Both (Aus) 72-72-74, T. Khrongpha (THA) 70-74-74, M. Pucay 70-74-74, D. Chia (Mas) 75-69-74, A. Blyth (Aus) 73-70-75, A. Lascuna 71-71-76; 219—P. Pogamnerd (THA) 74-75-70, J. Groonberg (Fin) 72-74-73, W. Ormsby (Aus) 70-76-73, R. Gangjee (IND) 75-70-74, A. Vongvanij (THA) 73-72-74, A. Kang (USA) 69-75-75, S. Cyr (USA) 71-72-76; 220—D. Kataoka (JPN) 73-77-70, T. Hiratsuka (JPN) 77-72-71, A. Que 73-76-71, C. Plaphol (THA) 74-75-71, E. Salvador 72-73-75, M. Kobayashi 75-70-75.