Tabuena joins Salvador at helm

ANTIPOLO CITY, Rizal, Philippines -  Defending champion Elmer Salvador bungled a four-stroke lead going into the final seven holes as he ran into trouble with his putting, winding up with a two-under 70 and allowing young Miguel Tabuena to snatch a share of the lead with his tournament best round of 67 in the third and penultimate round of the 94th Philippine Open here yesterday.

Salvador, out to become the Open’s first back-to-back titlist since Celestino Tugot did the trick more than five decades ago, had a flawless, blistering start as he birdied six times in the first 11 holes of Day Three to go 11-under but lost steam in a timid day at challenging Valley Golf course, bogeying the 12th, 14th and 15th holes to barely hang on to the lead he mounted with a pair of 69s in the first two days.

“I had a good start but I just couldn’t sustain it, good thing I’m still in the lead going into the final day,” said Salvador, who celebrated his 41st birthday last year by conquering the composite course at Malarayat with his first RP Open crown, in Filipino.

In contrast, the 16-year-old Tabuena, who is coming here riding the crest of a morale-boosting silver medal finish in last month’s Guangzhou Asian Games, showed scary consistency and came through with solid enough windup and battled back from four strokes down with a birdie on No. 14 for that impressive 67.

Tabuena, who had to go to practice in almost the same narrow course in Singapore to be here armed and well-prepared, thus caught up with Salvador, who is turning 42 on Sunday, at eight under 208, a stroke ahead of resurgent Artemio Murakami, who unleashed this edition’s best performance with a 65.

The 27-year-old Murakami, out to snare his first Open after a decade of fruitless campaigns, lucked out on No. 1 with a bogey but sprung back to life by firing seven birdies the rest of the way including a 25-foot putt on No. 18 that had him throwing his fist in the air in jubilation and the small but loud crowd in the clubhouse cheering in appreciation.

“I participated here with a goal of winning my first Open and I think I have a strong chance of accomplishing it,” said Murakami, who limped to a 74 on opening day before he rediscovered his groove in Day 2 with a 70.

Frankie Miñoza, the country’s living legend in golf, fired a 69 to stay in the hunt with a 210, the same aggregate score posted by Malarayat-based and opening day co-leader Orlan Sumcad, who had a 71, setting the stage for a wide open race for the crown.

“It’s anybody’s ballgame,” said the calm Miñoza, who is playing with an infected left ear.

At 211 and still in contention were Marvin Dumandan (76-69-66) and Richard Sinfuego (70-71-70) while Elmer Saban (75-71-66) and former champion Robert Pactolerin (68-75-69), whose trip here is sponsored by Royal Golf of Zamboanga, each had 212 after three days.

Antonio Asistio II, the Day 2 co-leader, had a disastrous third day with a 76 to stay six shots off the pace with a 214 for a share of ninth place with Demitrio Sanchez and Joenard Rates.

The day, however, belonged to Tabuena, who was in China when Tiger Woods debuted in the 2006 Shanghai Open, after the teen sensation impressed everyone with his superb shotmaking to stay on course to become the youngest winner of this annual, rich tournament.

Tabuena is looking to become the Open’s first amateur champion since Hsu Sheng San of Chinese Taipei accomplished the feat after he upstaged legendary Celestino Tugot in a gripping finish in 1967 and the first Filipino amateur to do so since Luis “Golem” Silverio did it the year before.

“I’m happy with the way I’m playing, my drives and putting are doing the work for me,” said Tabuena. “I’m also excited and surprised that I’m in contention, I never really thought I’ll have this big chance of winning against the best.”