Jonel Ababa gunned down six birdies on a day when the winds howled from all directions, as a five-under-par 67 on Thursday gave the diminutive ex-caddy from Davao a two-shot lead over two veterans heading into the final 18 holes of the Philippine Golf Tour’s ICTSI Pradera Verde Championship in Lubao, Pampanga.
Ababa cracked par for the third straight day and will take a 211 tally into the last round as he seeks to snap a title drought that has gone for the last three years even as Antonio Lascuña rescued a level 72 after his lone birdie that came on No. 14 to be tied with Guido Van Der Valk of the Netherlands at 213.
Meanwhile, staying calm under demanding conditions, Harmie Constantino did just enough to claim the ladies title, with a 74 and a 54-hole 216 giving her a one-shot win over Chanelle Avaricio.
Avaricio’s only birdie came on the par-5 12th, but that proved enough with Avaricio signing for four of her five dropped shots in the back nine on the way to a 76.
Van Der Valk, the Splendido leg winner, submitted a second straight 70 as six other players are within six shots of the lead, counting Angelo Que, who fired a 73 for 216.
“Every part of my game [today] was just super,” Ababa, a product of the defunct National Caddies Open program, said in Filipino. “The holes just seemed so big.”