Manila: Thailand’s rising star Sattaya Supupramai stormed up the leaderboard with a sizzling eight-under-par 64 to grab a share of the third round lead with Filipino Antonio Lascuna at the ICTSI Mount Malarayat Classic on Friday.
Lascuna and Sattaya posted matching totals of 16-under-par 200 to take a four-shot advantage over three-time Asian Tour winner, Angelo Que who staged a comeback by matching Sattaya’s efforts with a 64 of his own at the US$60,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.
Filipino veteran Frankie Minoza, England’s Ian Keenan and Guido Van Der Valk of the Netherlands took a share of fourth place on matching 205s after signing for rounds of 64, 65 and 70 respectively at the Mount Malarayat Golf and Country Club.
Sattaya, who fired two eagles and six birdies against two bogeys, is looking forward to a grandstand finish as that would mean a career breakthrough for him on the ADT, which is the feeder circuit to the premier Asian Tour.
“I had a great round today. I shot two eagles on the 9th and 14th and I am very happy with my round today. I played very well and the conditions are good out there. I had to deal with a stiff neck during the round but I tried to loosen up and it got better after that. Other than that, all is good,” said Sattaya.
“I try not to think so much and just focus on my game. I look forward to playing my best tomorrow. The season has been pretty good so far. I think I’m playing better this year compared to the past. Hopefully things turn out good for me tomorrow!” added Sattaya, who regained his Asian Tour card earlier this year at the Qualifying School in Thailand where he finished inside the top-40.
Meanwhile Lascuna, who returned with a 69, lamented his poor putting but promised to play his best when he tees up for his final charge on Saturday.
“I’m very disappointed with my putting today. I have no idea what went wrong but I just can’t seem to putt well today. Everything’s in a good condition except for my putting,” said Lascuna.
“I will try and work on it later today. I hope to play better tomorrow,” added the 42-year-old Filipino, who mixed his card with four birdies against one bogey.
Should Lascuna win this week, he will not only take home the winner’s prize purse of US$10,500 but also receive six OWGR points that will put him in a prime position to qualify for the World Cup of Golf which will be held in Australia in November.
Starting this year, all ADT events will receive Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, which will be used to determine the field for the World Cup of Golf and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The top three players to finish on the ADT Order of Merit at the end of this season will receive Asian Tour cards for 2014.
Winners on the ADT will receive a minimum of six world ranking points while the top six players and ties will earn points based on a sliding scale.
Leading third round scores:
200 – Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 69-67-64, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 64-67-69
204 – Angelo QUE (PHI) 67-73-64
205 – Frankie MINOZA (PHI) 72-69-64, Ian KEENAN (ENG) 70-70-65, Guido VAN DER VALK (NED) 64-71-70
206 – David LUTTERUS (AUS) 67-70-69, Darren TAN (AUS) 68-68-70
207 – Jessie BALASABAS (PHI) 70-71-66, Lindsay RENOLDS (CAN) 71-69-67, PARK Il-hwan (KOR) 71-68-68, Anthony FERNANDO (PHI) 65-73-69, Greg MOSS (USA) 67-69-71, Masaki SAKATA (JPN) 69-67-71, Yuki USAMI (JPN) 71-65-71
