Poor putting sends RP duo down to sixth

SINGAPORE – The Philippines went from fiery to ice cold on a hot, humid day as it fumbled with an awful nine-over 151 aggregate and fell with a thud to sixth place halfway through the Singapore Open Amateur Championship at the Singapore Island Country Club here yesterday.

After a superb four-under par 67 Tuesday that gave Team RP a three-shot lead over Singapore in team championship and a share of the lead in the individual play, Marvin Dumandan limped with a fat 78 in a 38-40 round marred by four bogeys and two double-bogeys with only a birdie to show.

Jay Bayron, whose first round 68 complemented Dumandan’s fine start in the two-player team event, wavered coming home with two bogeys in the last four holes and wound up with a two-over par 73 for that 151.

Counting its earlier score of 135, the Philippines pooled a 36-hole total of 286, skidding from first to sixth place and enabling Singapore, shooting a 142 and a 280, to wrest a one-shot lead over Thailand, which also turned in a 142 for a 281.

Sri Lanka played a steady round of 143 as it moved up to third with a 284 while New Zealand and India shared fourth place with 285s after a 139 and 140, respectively.

Dumandan and Bayron blamed poor putting for their day-long struggle on the unpredictable surface of the Bukit layout.

"Our putting just didn’t click as it did in the first round. But we’ll fight back tomorrow (today)," rued Dumandan in Filipino. He flubbed a couple of birdie opportunities inside five feet, missed at least three par putts within four feet to likewise drop from a share of the individual lead to 23rd place with a 145.

"I just lost the feel (in putting)," said Bayron, who had two three-putts for bogey and three muffed birdie chances inside four feet. He was the best-placed Filipino in the individual race at joint seventh with a 141, five shots behind new leader India’ s Chiragh Kumar, who fired a 67 for a 136 to pace Thai Warut Chomchalam (68-139) and Vincent Khua (69-139) of Singapore by three shots.

So terrible was the team’s performance that nobody from the eight-member of the squad, whose stint here is sponsored by ICTSI and sanctioned by the NGAP, managed to churn an even par card on the par-71 tree-lined course.

Michael Bibat, who teamed up with now-pro Juvic Pagunsan to win last year’s team crown, blew a one-under card with bogeys as the 2004 individual champion settled for a one-over par 72 and a 143 total for 17th.

Anthony Fernando had a 74 to tie Dumandan at 145, Gene Bondoc had a 150 after a 74-43rd, Miko Alejandro carded a 77 for a 151 (53rd), Eugene Bunyi shot a second straight 77 for a 154 (74th) while Dante Becierra made a 77 for a 157 (85th).

Only the top 30 players plus ties after 54 holes will advance to the final round Friday. The other Filipino scorers were Ferdinand Aunzo (73-145), Jun Bernis (75-146-30th), Jhonnel Ababa (75-149-40th) and Mhark Fernando (76-150).