CEBU, Philippines - Elmer Salvador seized the solo lead after the penultimate round of the Aboitiz Invitational 2012 at the Cebu Country Club yesterday and gave the Cebuano golf fans a preview of today’s battle for the title, which is down to two men.
Salvador and fellow Davaoeño Tony Lascuña slugged it out through the round hitting one magnificent shot after the other, but when the last putts were sank on the 18th, it was Salvador, who was ahead by one stroke.
His three-day total of 205 strokes put him at eight-under-par for the tournament on rounds of 69, 71 and 65. Lascuña shot 69, 71 and 66.
Salvador was up by two strokes going to the final hole, but failed to save par after hitting the bunker on his second shot.
Completing today’s championship flight will be Elmer Saban, another Davaoeño, who sizzled with a four-under-par 67 yesterday by closing his round with an eagle on the 16th and back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th.
Saban has a three-day total of 213 strokes (75-71-67) and is tied with Mars Pucay at third spot. Pucay shot rounds of 73, 72, and 68.
Four players are tied for fifth with totals of 216 strokes. They are Ruben Sasutil (73-75-68), England’s Grant Jackson (75-72-69), Guido Van Der Valk of the Netherlands (75-71-70), and Ebarra Quiachon (71-72-73).
Defending back-to-back champion Jay Bayron could not keep up with his flightmates yesterday, Salavador and Lascuña, and shot his worst round of the tournament a four-over-par 75 to add to his pair of 71s on the first two days.
Tied with Bayron are Kim Gi-hwan of Korea (72-75-70), Richard Sinfuego (70-75-72), and Michael Bibat (74-71-72).
Cebuano Charles Hong is part of a big group tied for 13th spot with three-day aggregates of 218 strokes. Hong fired rounds of 71, 76 and 72.
Another player in the same group as the Cebuano pro is Maravin Dumandan with rounds of 73, 75, and 70.
Jose Angelo ‘Gio’ Gandionco, who was paired with superstar Frankie Miñoza and the popular Artemio Murakami, turned in his best round of the tournament shooting two-under-par 69.
Gandionco is the lone amateur who made the cut. He opened the tournament with 77 strokes and improved by four in the second round with a 73. Yesterday, with his father Joseph on the gallery, the young Cebuano gave Miñoza and Murakami a glimpse at the future of Philippine professional golf. His three-day total is 219 strokes.
Miñoza is four strokes behind Gandionco with a total of 223 strokes on rounds of 75, 75 and 73 while Murakami has an aggregate of 225 shooting 75 strokes on each round.
Celebrated 17-year-old pro Miguel Tabuena is tied for 47th with a total of 227 strokes on rounds of 79, 72, and 76.
Ryan Bulloch of Australia, the order of merit leader in the Asian Development Tour (ADT), which has sanctioned this $65,000 event, is at the tail end of the field after shooting 83 yesterday. His three-day total is 233 strokes. - THE FREEMAN