Que rallies, sets up title duel vs Salvador

CEBU , Philippines   â€“ Angelo Que has had a number of final round clashes with Elmer Salvador – all leading to friendly endings.

This one won’t be any different.

“What makes my duel with Elmer interesting is that we’ll not be clashing as fierce competitors but as friends,” said Que, who shouldered himself past a fading Salvador with a brilliant, bogey-free five-under 67 for a one-shot lead in the third round of the Aboitiz Invitational at the Cebu Country Club yesterday.

With at least six other players also moving in but fading out in a much-improved playing condition here, Que emerged as the lone player to have sustained a fiery start, finishing with 33-34 for a 10-under 206.

He overhauled a four-stroke deficit with a combination of talent and luck, setting up five birdies chances from close range while coming through with a couple of pars that flightmate Anthony Fernando jestingly described as “not in the menu.”

“Yes, I saved five pars, including two off my 9-iron, which I used instead of a lob wedge since the greens have become firmer,” said Que, who salvaged pars on Nos. 5 and 12 with his knockdown shots that stopped within six feet.

“Natapat lang sa tamang allowance,” he added as he downplayed his superb shots that helped put him 18 holes away from claiming his first Aboitiz Invitational crown after so-so finishes the last two years.

Salvador, who strung up impressive 67-68 rounds in tough condition to seize a two-stroke lead over England’s Ian Keenan halfway through, bogeyed two of the last seven holes for a 72, his last mishap on the 17th enabled Que to snatch a one-stroke lead in the $65,000 event sponsored by Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. and presented by ICTSI.

“I like my chances. The rest are too far behind and I’ve got only one player to contend with,” said Que, referring to Salvador, who settled for a 72 and dropped to 207.

“Bumigay ang matanda,” blurted the 43-year-old Salvador as he turned in his scorecard that showed three bogeys and just three birdies after hitting 11 in the first two days in wet condition.

Salvador complained of his stiff arms that he said hampered his shots all day, particularly his short game that has anchored his superb performance in the first two rounds of the event serving as the eighth leg of the Asian Development Tour, a feeder circuit to the Asian Tour.

“It just became stiff after I had it massaged last night (Thursday). I just can’t swing the club the way I used to,” said Salvador in Filipino.

Still, the ace Davaoeño shotmaker is well within reach of his dream title-retention bid and another $11,375 purse but would need to redisplay his old form to foil Que from scoring a breakthrough win here.

“This is a good match, he’s (Que) my idol,” said Salvador, whose past final round duels with Que, however, almost always end up with another player winning.

“Except for one perhaps, when I won in 2007 at Mt. Malarayat, another player would slip past us and win the tournament,” said Que.

Guido Van der Valk will try to become the next player to spoil the Que-Salvador title clash although the Dutch shotmaker will have to shoot a pretty low round and hope that Que and Salvador waver to get a shot at the crown. With a 210 after a 69, Van der Valk stood four shots off Que.

Korean teener Park Il-hwan also pooled a 210 after holing out with a birdie off the fringe for a 72 but will be in the company of Tony Lascuña and Carl Santos-Ocampo, who shot a pair of 211s after a 70 and 72, respectively.

Fernando and Keenan also assembled 211s after a 73 and 74, respectively, for the third-to-the-last flight with Jhonnel Ababa, who had a 212 after a 70 in the event backed by Nike Golf, Srixon, Custom Clubmakers, Pacsports, Cleveland Golf, Callaway, Ping, Mizuno, Empire Golf and Sports Shop, FootJoy, Titleist, Sharp and BMW.

Charles Hong also fired a 70 to join Ababa at ninth while Australians Michael Moore (70) and Darren Tan (74), Miguel Tabuena (70), England’s Peter Richardson (73) and Jun Bernis (73) were seven strokes adrift at 213.

It was actually a crowded leaderboard in the early going with a slew of pursuers cashing on the improved weather condition to fire under-par rounds after nine holes.

All but one, however, fell one after the other.

Lascuña shot a 34 and went six-under overall with another birdie on No. 11. But the reigning ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit champion settled for pars in the next five before bogeying the 17th for that 70.

Bernis had a 33 at the turn for a seven-under overall total but bogeyed four holes at the back for a 73, while Van der Valk missed closing in on Que with a bogey on the final hole for a 69.

But Que proved up to the task, sustaining his stirring 33 with birdies on Nos. 14 and 16 before watching Salvador drop a stroke on the 17th to move closer to a dream championship.