Lascuña bucks Salvador charge, leads by 3

GEN. TRIAS, CAVITE , Philippines   â€“ Tony Lascuña birdied the two par-5s at the back to card a two-under 70, hold off a rallying Elmer Salvador and stretch his lead to three in the third round of the P3 million ICTSI Eagle Ridge Classic at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club here yesterday.

Playing for only the second time at the wind-raked Aoki layout, Lascuña bucked poor driving with a superb short game and solid putting, coming away with a couple of tap-in birdies coming home to move 18 holes away from nailing his first victory in the early going of this year’s ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour.

“My ball-striking is off but had a good short game at putting. This is just my second time to play Aoki after the practice round and the long and straight hitters really have the edge here,” said Lascuña, who outplayed flightmates Charles Hong and Carl Santos-Ocampo to build a three-shot cushion with a 210 heading to the final round of this third leg of the circuit sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

A flight ahead and four shots behind Lascuña, Salvador overcame a bogey on the par-5 No. 2 with three birdies in the next seven holes then birdied Nos. 12 and 15 to close within. But the back-to-back Aboitiz Invitational champion hit an errant tee-shot on the par-3 No. 16 for bogey, settling for a 69 and a 213.

Hong, who put himself in contention with a 70 halfway through the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., actually rebounded from a two-over card with three birdies in a four-hole stretch from No. 12, only to fumble with bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17. He wound up with a 72 but still gained a spot in the championship flight at 214.

With the next player Marvin Dumandan too far behind at 218 after a 75, Lascuña will only have Salvador and Hong – and Aoki – to handle to pocket the top P550,000 purse in the event backed by Nike Golf, Custom Clubmakers, Titleist, Cleveland, Pacsports, Srixon, Callaway, Sharp and FootJoy and media partners Balls TV and ABS-CBN.

“Now that I’m still in the lead, they have to figure out how to beat me but I need to get my rhythm back and timing (on my shots) to win,” said Lascuña, who held his ground at the challenging Faldo layout with a 71 then surged ahead of the field with a 69 at Norman Wednesday.

But he somewhat hinted at how his rivals could stymie his title bid when he said: “To score here at Aoki, one has to be in the right position on the fairway to set up good approach shots.”

The reticent Salvador, who shot a 71 at Norman but stumbled with a 73 at Faldo, rued the tough pin placements and the sleek putting surface of Aoki and, like Lascuña, overcame a shaky stint off the mound with his iron game and steady putting.

“I still couldn’t get the feel (of my driving). Aoki is tougher than Faldo and Norman and it requires solid ball striking to score here,” said Salvador, who gunned down five birdies inside seven feet but three-putted No. 2 and failed to return a six-footer for par on No. 16.

Unlike his two fancied rivals, Hong hit the ball well off the tee but struggled a bit in the wind and on the unpredictable surface of Aoki.

“I’m hitting the ball well but the strong wind got in the way and I need some good breaks on putting,” said Hong, chasing a follow-up to his maiden win at ICTSI Pueblo de Oro in 2012. “I have to be slow, steady and sure of my strokes tomorrow (today).”

Santos-Ocampo came in ruffled by the wind and hobbled with a 76 for a 219, dropping to joint fifth with Manila-based Canadian Rick Gibson, who turned in a 75, while three-time Asian Tour winner Angelo Que failed to sustain a fine 35 start with two bogeys against the same number of birdies at the back for a 71 to tie obscure Nilo Salahog, who also carded a 71, at 220.