Chiu, Thai hang on; Arevalo hikes lead

MANILA, Philippines - Thai Suvajanakorn Nattawat rallied with a three-under 69 to tie Chiu Han-ting of Taiwan in the lead in the boys’ Class A but Abby Arevalo pulled away from the girls’ Class B pack with a gutsy 73 in the third round of the Philippine Junior Golf Championship (The Montecillo) at the Orchard’s Palmer course in Dasmariñas, Cavite yesterday.

Suvajanakorn gunned down birdies in tough conditions to turn in the day’s best score and match Chiu’s 54-hole total of 215 heading to the final 18 holes of the annual event organized by the Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines.

Chiu, who held the solo lead in the first two days with 70 and 72, failed to sustain his form and struggled with a 73, setting the stage for a shootout for the top plum in the premier division of the tournament held in honor of
the late Jungolf founder Amalia “Maling” Montecillo.

Arevalo, one of the newest members of Team ICTSI, shrugged off a shaky start with a slew of pars for that 73 and a 222, padding her overnight one-stroke lead to five over Miya Legaspi, who struggled with a 77 for a 227.

Guam’s Nalathai Vongjalorn made a 75 for a 237 while Pauline del Rosario had a 239 after a 77 and LK Go skied to an 82 for a 244.

Kristoffer Arevalo, meanwhile, grabbed the boys’ Class B lead with a 73 and a 224 as erstwhile leader Chinese Chun An-yu voluntarily disqualified himself for signing a wrong scorecard in the second round.

“What Chun did was admirable. He knew something was wrong in his card and he was honest about it. Aira Alido (boys’ Class C) also did the same thing and should be also commended,” said Jungolf president Luigi Tabuena.

Fil-Chinese Wei Wei Gao from Cebu shot a 71 to trail Kristoffer Arevalo by six at 230.  

Princess Superal finally regained her form after a 79 and a 77 as she fired a three-under 69 but remained too far behind Thai Supamas Sangchan in the girls’ Class A division.

Superal, a spearhead of Team ICTSI, tallied 225 in 54 holes, nine strokes back from the 216 of Supamas, the reigning Philippine Ladies Open champion, who zeroed in on the crown with a two-under-par 70.