RP golfers fall in Turkey, Singapore

Marvin Dumandan took another roller-coaster round at the up-and-down Kemer Golf and Country Club course in Istanbul, Turkey, finishing with a one-over par 74 and dropping seven strokes off new leader Peter Baunso of Denmark halfway through the fifth Turkish Amateur Open Championship Friday.

With a 149, Dumandan slipped to eighth, seven shots behind Baunso who sizzled with a four-under 69 and a 142 to post a three-stroke lead over erstwhile leader Gencer Oscan, who dropped to second with an even par 73 and a 145. The rest of the five-man RP squad, sent here by ICTSI as part of the team’s buildup for next month’s World Amateurs and the Asian Games in December, continued to struggle although Jay Bayron managed to match par to catch Michael Bibat at 10th with 151s.

Bibat, the former Singapore Open winner, shot a 74. Anthony Fernando groped for form and made a 78 for a 157 while Gene Bondoc made an 80-164 for 45th place although they still made the cut for the top 70 players after two rounds.

Meanwhile, Filipino bets continued to struggle in the Singapore Open with first-round co-leader Juvic Pagunsan falling further behind with a 74-217 in the rain-interrupted third round at the Sentosa Golf Club course.

Frankie Miñoza was a stroke behind with a 72-218, Angelo Que three more shots adrift at 221 and Gerald Rosales miring near the bottom with 80-223.

"The par 5s are relatively short but once you miss the fairways and the greens, chances are you will end up with a double-bogey," said coach Nestor Mendoza.

Still, Dumandan, Bayron and Bibat are expected to make their move in the third round in a bid to put themselves within striking distance of the leaders heading into the final round of the 72-hole championship, which drew entries from 26 countries, including Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Chinese-Taipei, Malaysia, Italy and Wales.