Strong finish nets Go one-shot lead

SILANG, Cavite  , Philippines  —  Lois Kaye Go cranked it up in a windy backside battle of shotmaking and wits with Atthaya Thitikul and Bianca Pagdanganan and stormed ahead with a 70 in the third round of the Philippine Amateur Open Golf Championships at Riviera’s Langer course here yesterday.

The 19-year-old Cebuana ace flashed a near-impeccable short game she complemented with a superb putting, producing three birdies in a solid backside rally that lifted her from two down to one-up over the Thai ace with a 215 aggregate heading to the final 18 holes.

“I have a pretty solid game at the back. Unlike in the first round where I missed a lot of putts, my putting worked well this time,” said Go, who birdied Nos. 10 and 11 to draw level with Thitikul, then went 2-up on the Thai on another two-shot swing on No. 16.

Thai Vanchai Luangnitikul, meanwhile, grabbed the lead in the men’s side despite a 75 for a 226 as two-day leader Jang Sung Hun of Korea was disqualified for violation of Rules 1.2A (Standards of Players Conduct).

That also threw the battle for the men’s crown wide open as Singapore’s Lucius Toh and Gen Nagai assembled identical 227s after a 73 and 74, respectively, and Weiwei Gao stood just three strokes behind at 229 despite a 78.

Aidric Chan also moved within four at 230 after a second 78 while Ivan Monsalve skied to an 82 for a 281 and Paolo Wong and Japanese Atsushi Ueda carded identical 81s for 232s, six shots off the pace.

Thitikul, who surged past the Pinay duo despite a 75 Friday, hiked her lead to two with a 36 start but failed to match Go’s blistering finish in windy conditions, needing to birdie the last hole to salvage a 72.