Pucay, Lascuña rebound with 63 in WC qualifier

MANILA, Philippines - Tony Lascuña and Mars Pucay rallied with a stirring eagle-spiked eight-under 63 in the four-ball format and bounced back into contention in the World Cup qualifier at the par-71 Seri Selangor Golf Club in Malaysia yesterday.

The Filipinos still stood seven shots off pacesetting Singapore but got a crack at the third and last World Cup berth with a 54-hole aggregate of seven-under 206.

The top three teams after four rounds will advance to this year’s World Cup slated Nov. 24-27 at Mission Hills in China.

Singapore held on in the better ball format and shot a 66, virtually sealing a seat in the World Cup proper with a 14-under 199.

India zeroed in on the second slot with a 200 total after a seven-under 64 but New Zealand and Malaysia were way behind at nine-under 204 for joint third.

That was just two strokes ahead of the Philippines and South Korea, which turned in a 67, ensuring a spirited battle in the final day where play shifts back to the alternate shot format.

Ten shots behind Singapore at the start of the day, Lascuña and Pucay built their momentum on a fiery four-birdie string from No. 3 then added another one on the ninth and made the turn at 31.

After a run of pars, the Phl duo eagled the par-5 13th then hit another birdie on the 15th for that bogey-free 63, one of the day’s best scores.

Malaysia turned in the other eight-under card, highlighted by three straight birdies from No. 15 as the host caught up New Zealand in third.

After the Phl and Korea, the next teams were too far behind to pose a threat with Pakistan and Sri Lanka pooling a 210 after a 66 and 70, respectively.