Pair of eagles powers Shin to 2-stroke lead

Micah Shin uses an all-around game to zoom to the top.

LIPA City, Batangas—Micah Shin, whose lean frame disguises his power off the tee, gunned down two eagles and steadied a slight wobble with three closing birdies to take a two-stroke lead after three rounds of the Philippine Golf Tour Asia’s Summit Point World 18 Challenge here on Friday.

Shin eagled Nos. 3 and 9 off solid drives and long irons and birdied the three other par-5s of the course. The last bird came on No. 16, which kicked off a three-birdie finish that more than made up for his double bogey mishap on the par-4 15th.

That round-long brilliance catapulted the 21-year-old Korean-American, from fourth place to the top, his 12-under 204 total two shots better than Finland’s Janne Kaske and local bet Elmer Salvador.

Shin, who scored his maiden win in 2016 in the Philippine Golf Tour’s CAT Open in Tarlac and became the first non-Filipino to win The Country Club Invitational in February, overturned a six-stroke deficit overnight and was one of the chasers who put up low scores in near-perfect conditions.

“My putting got better and I hope to keep this form [today],” said Shin.

Shin flaunted a complete game in the third round, complementing his power with a steady iron game. He knocked a 5-iron second shot to within five feet of the hole for his first eagle then followed it up with another eagle from 15 feet out.

Dino Villanueva, hounded by poor putting, and Peter Stojanovski of Macedonia succumbed to pressure early with 40 and 39, respectively, after nine holes, enabling Salvador to take control with three birdies at the front and hold on to the lead until Shin came through with that explosive finish.

Salvador fumbled with a bogey on the 17th and finished with a 70, dropping to joint second at 206 with Kaske, who fired five birdies against two bogeys for a 69 while Taiwanese Wang Tsung-Chieh shot a 67 to wrest solo fourth at 207.

Eight flights ahead, Keanu Jahns mounted his own rally with four straight birdies from No. 3 and bucked a bogey on No. 8 with three birdies at the back, finishing with a 66 and jumping to joint fifth at 208 with Clyde Mondilla (67), Aussie Nathan Park (69) and Stojanovski, who rallied with three birdies at the back to salvage a 72.

Jobim Carlos, this year’s PGT Order of Merit winner, was three-under after nine holes but fumbled in the back, ending up with a 70 for ninth at 209 while American John Michael O’Toole charged back with a 68 to join Nilo Salahog (70), Joenard Rates (71), American Jeremy Wendelken (71) and Villanueva, who skied to a 77, at 210.

“I missed three greens in the first four and made three three-putts,” rued Villanueva. “I was not pressured but simply lost my touch.”