Que threatens within three strokes

MANILA, Philippines - Angelo Que rode on a rare five-birdie binge from No. 10 to cushion the impact of a shaky windup as he carded a three-under 67 to move within three off South African Jbe Kruger midway through the Hong Kong Open at the Hong Kong Golf Club yesterday.

Two bogeys in the last three holes ruined what could’ve been an explosive round for the 35-year-old Filipino ace, who totaled a four-under 136 to jump from joint 26th to a share of six with seven others, just three shots off Kruger, who fired a 66 for a 133.

Welshman Stuart Manley turned in a second 67 for a 134 while German Alex Cejka, Aussie Wade Ormsby and India’s Shiv Kapur all had 135s after 67, 68 and 66, respectively.

Despite being left to rue two late bogeys, Que remains upbeat of his chances heading to the Open weekend.

“Like yesterday, I started well and basically did the same thing so I’ve no complains. I’ve been putting so well. I bogeyed those two holes only because of bad shots as I didn’t hit them that well,” said Que, who finished joint sixth in last week’s Indonesia Open.

He bogeyed the opening hole but birdied No. 4 to make the turn at even par before rattling off five straight birdies to start his backside bid.

“Making five birdies in a row on this course is pretty amazing. I haven’t done that in a while,” said Que.

Juvic Pagunsan and Tony Lascuña, Que’s teammate in the recent World Cup, barely made it to the final 36 holes with 141s, the cutoff score, after a 70 and 69, respectively.