Kim pulls away by 6; Dottie leads by 5

MANILA, Philippines - Lanky Kim In Jae sustained his form and shot a one-under 71 to stretch his overnight three-stroke lead to six over Rupert Zaragoza and two others while Team ICTSI spearhead Dottie Ardina sizzled with a five-under 67 to dominate the ladies side in the Canlubang Amateur Open at Cangolf’s north course in Laguna yesterday.

The bespectacled Kim hit a 35 on a two-birdie, one-bogey stint at the front then closed out with two birdies against two bogeys for an even 36 and a 71 as the rest failed to mount any challenge on a muddy layout, enabling the Eagle Ridge bet to pull away from the pack in the Championship Division at 140.

That was six shots up on Zaragoza, who had an up-and-down round of 37-35 for a 72 and a 146, the same score posted by Jordan Mamamil, who started the round four behind and matched Kim’s 34 start before moving to within three with a birdie on the 10th. But the Tagaytay Midlands’ mainstay fell back with a thud after a triple-bogey 6 on par-3 11th and wound up with a 42 for a 76.

Joey Huerva, another Cangolf bet, bogeyed the 18th and settled for a 71 for the other 146 while Southwoods’ Yoon Sung Hwang made a 74 and dropped nine strokes behind at 149 heading to the final round of the 54-hole tournament serving as part of Globe Business Amateur Golf Circuit.

Ardina, who won the Taiwan Amateur championship two weeks ago, likewise poised herself for a romp as she blitzed the frontside with a four-under 32 on her way home, including a stirring three-birdie binge from No. 7, highlighted by a 20-foot putt on the eighth, for that 67.

That gave her a five-stroke lead over ICTSI-The Country Club teammate Princess Superal, who bagged the Malaysian Juniors title last week but failed to match Ardina’s fiery windup after a 35 at the back, finishing with a 72.

Reigning Hong Kong Amateur Ladies Open titlist Cyna Rodriguez also struggled with a 73 and stayed six shots behind in the 36-hole event backed by Pancake House and Cangolf and sanctioned by the National Golf Association of the Phils.

Kim Ji Young carded a 75 while Jayvie Agojo, the Santi Cup individual champion, holed out with a bogey and a double-bogey and fell by nine at 76 in a tie with Bianca Pagdanganan.

Also being disputed in the annual event hosted by Cangolf are the titles in Classes A, B and C.

Alabang’s Sebastian Lorenzo rebounded with a 72 to tie Riviera’s Park Gyu Ha, who skied to a 78, at 150 while Micah Shin of Apo also bounced back from a 79 with a 73 for a 152 for joint eighth with Cangolf’s Nicholas Santiano, who had a 75.