Lascuña still 5 shots ahead despite 73

DAVAO, Philippines — A weary Tony Lascuña turned in his worst score in seven rounds but still held on to a commanding five-stroke lead over new pursuer Nilo Salahog despite a one-over 73, moving 18 holes away from competing a back-to-back title romp here and abroad.

After a sizzling opening 65 and a 68 built on a late surge Thursday, Lascuña endured a 37-36 card yesterday, hardly making any effort to recover the shot he had lost on a missed green mishap on No. 2 as he settled for pars the rest of the way in the third round of the ICTSI Apo Golf Invitational at the Apo layout yesterday.

If he was trying to conserve his energy playing in his seventh straight tournament marked by a triumphant campaign in the Philippine Golf Tour Asia in Taiwan last week with a run of under par cards, Salahog and the rest of the bidders should brace for an explosive Lascuña closeout today.

“There’s no need to attack. I just played it safe and avoided getting into trouble,” said Lascuña, who admitted later that he’s tired but stressed that an even par card would be enough to frustrate his challengers and net him the crown worth another P550,000.

“I’m not getting any young and playing seven straight tournaments is no joke,” said Lascuña, 48. “But I think I only have to shoot an even par to win.”

Ferdie Aunzo, who took second spot halfway through the P3 million event, and Ira Alido, whose eagle-spiked 67 Thursday put him back in contention, both faltered while trying to put the pressure on the veteran shotmaker early on in the pivotal round, making early bogeys instead and enabling Lascuña to preserve his huge lead built around a solid 36-hole start.

But three flights behind, Salahog sneaked into contention with three birdies at the front and two more in the last five that negated his second straight bogey on the par-3 seventh, his 68 slashing Lascuña overnight 10-shot lead to half with a 54-hole total of 211.