Lascuña falls to solo 3rd, 7 strokes off Taiwanese

TAIPEI—Antonio Lascuña capped a scrambling round of 72 with a 15-foot par putt and clung to third place, seven strokes behind top local hope Tsai Chi-huang  after the third round of the Mercuries Taiwan Masters.

The 41-year-old Filipino veteran, who  also placed third in the ICTSI Philippine Open last February, fell from a tie for first in the second round  with a 54-hole total of 215. He had earlier rounds of 70-73 at the  Taiwan Golf and Country Club.

Tsai celebrated his 44th birthday with a 7-under-par 65 as he opened up a six-shot lead in a bid to repeat his triumph in the event in 2002  with a 208 total.

Baek Seuk-hyun of Korea carded a 71 courtesy of a chip in birdie on 17 to lie in second place at 214 and remained in the running of winning his first Asian Tour title at the $600,000 event. Filipino veteran Antonio Lascuña was a further shot back in third

Malaysia’s Danny Chia shot a third consecutive 72 and was fourth at 216 behind Lascuña.

“I made so many par saves today! When you miss the fairways, there’s very little chance for you to attack the green and score. That’s just how this golf course is. You need to find fairways if you want to shoot a low score. It won’t be easy to chase the leader and I’ll need to stay patient,” said Lascuña

Angelo Que moved into a tie for 10th at 220 despite a 75 while Elmer Salvador, the only other Filipino to make the halfway cut, was two strokes behind at 222 after a 73.

Tsai, winner of the 1997 Taiwan Open and 1998 Taiwan Masters, wielded a hot putter as he birdied the last three holes in a round of eight birdies and one bogey. The veteran grew up playing at the host club  and took advantage of his local knowledge

Baek, who has three-top 10s on the Asian Tour this season, was one-over for the tournament after 10 holes but recovered with a pair of birdies on 16 and 17. The burly Korean, who stays in Thailand, is not concerned with Tsai’s massive lead.

“Tsia shot seven-under! I can’t believe how he did it. I’m happy with my score. I think anything can happen on this golf course. Every hole is not easy. If you miss one shot, you can drop two or three shots,”   said Baek. Asian Tour News