Lascuña drops to 4th in Sabah

MANILA, Philippines - Tony Lascuña slowed down with an even par 71 and dropped farther back to fourth after three rounds of the Sabah Masters still paced by Mardan Mamat in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia yesterday.

Lascuña, who shared the first round lead with the Singaporean ace with 67s but slid to second with a 69 on the second day, blew a two-under card with bogeys on Nos. 13 and 15 and settled for a 35-36 for a 207.

He fell behind by five as Mamat, winner of last year’s Philippine Open, sustained his form and fired a 69 for a 202, posting a four-stroke lead over local bet Nicholas Fung and Thai Somkiat Srisanga heading to the final 18 holes of the $75,000 championship serving as the final event of the ASEAN PGA Tour 2012-13 season.

Mamat, who opened a three-shot lead over Lascuña with a fiery 66 Thursday, birdied the first two holes then went on to shoot two more birdies against two bogeys for that 69 while Fung and Srisanga also turned in identical 69s for 206s.

Anthony Fernando birdied two of the last nine holes for a 69 as he moved to joint eighth at 211, nine shots behind, while Rufino Bayron struggled with a 72 and slid to 10th at 212.