Carl Corpus fired a level par 72 Wednesday and, aided by Aidric Chan’s uncharacteristic front nine meltdown, wrested control in the Southeast Asian Games’ Philippine men’s team qualifiers at Luisita Golf Club in Tarlac.
Corpus zoomed ahead from six down at the start of the day and will take a 500 aggregate into the final round of the 144-hole qualifying for three slots to the national squad that will go for gold later this year.
Chan, who has led the tournament since the third round of the first phase, had two double bogeys and two bogeys in a horrendous front nine, limping home with a 79 to be at 501.
Corpus and Chan are practically assured of the top two spots, with Edward Dy 11 shots off Chan despite a gutsy 67.
The National Golf Association of the Philippines has one captain’s pick for the squad, and sources said that it will go to the seasoned Jolo Magcalayo, regarded as the best amateur in the land.
Abegail Arevalo, the San Jose State University standout in the United States, and Bianca Pagdanganan have been tapped to lead the women’s team.
Despite his skid, the University of Arizona-bound Chan vowed to strike back and re-claim his place at the top.
“All the aspects of my game turned off [today]. But it’s helpful for me to know what to work on,” said Chan.
Paolo Wong also kept his bid alive with a 71, tying Luis Castro, who groped for a 76, at 516 while Gab Manotoc hardly recovered from a previous 81 with a 75 but still stayed in the hunt at 517.
Ryan Monsalve carded a 73 to be at 521, while brother Ivan Monsalve pooled a 523 after a 78 followed by Lanz Uy (73-525) and Kristoffer Arevalo (77-526.