Malaysian hotshot Arie Irawan put himself in prime position for a second Asian Development Tour (ADT) title after carding a four-under-par 67 to lead by three shots in the penultimate round of the US$60,000 ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational on Friday.
Arie, who started the round with a two-shot deficit, fired seven birdies against a double bogey and a bogey for a four-under-par 209 total at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club.
American Brett Munson signed for a 70 to move into second place with overnight co-leaders Miguel Tabuena (72) of the Philippines and American Micah Lauren Shin (72) in what is the seventh leg of the ADT schedule this season.
Singaporeâs Choo Tze Huang registered a 66 to sit in fifth place on 213 while Korean-American Sejun Yoon stayed one shot back in sixth following a 71 at the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational.
Local stalwarts Antonio Lascuna (70) and Angelo Que (78) settled for tied-eighth and tied-30th positions respectively following the third round of the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational.
Arie, placed second on the Order of Merit, rode on his hot putter for a commendable round which put him in the outright lead.
âI did everything right. Itâs tough out there so I accepted my score today. It could have been better or it could have been worse. I missed the tee shot on the 16th hole but it was just a mental block for me. Overall, I putted very well and I kept the ball in play,â said Arie, who claimed a breakthrough victory at the ADT season-opener earlier in January.
âI will try and keep it as simple as possible tomorrow. It all depends on the wind actually. Today was windy and you never know what the wind is going to be like tomorrow. I will just focus on hitting the ball onto the fairways and greens. If it happens to be my day, it happens,â added the 24-year-old Malaysian.
Munson, who traded four birdies against three bogeys, hopes to keep up his good form to launch a title charge in the final round.
âI played solid the last two rounds. I have been hitting the balls well. I actually hit it pretty similar off the tee. There was just a bit of variable factors out there especially with the wind. I felt like I played better than how I scored. I will just stay patient and see how it goes tomorrow,â said Munson, a one-time winner on the ADT.
Choo was delighted to bounce back with a round of seven birdies, nine pars and two bogeys to stay four shots off the pace.
âI have been playing well actually. I didnât make any silly mistakes today and I kept the ball in play. It was pretty tough out there with the wind blowing but I putted well. This is not an easy golf course so you really need to stay patient out there,â said the 28-year-old Singaporean.
The ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational is one of the two tournaments title-sponsored by the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) in the Philippines and is the seventh leg of the ADT schedule this season.
The ICTSI will also title-sponsor the US$60,000 ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic slated to tee off at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club from April 22 to 25 next week.
The ADT will reward the top-five finishers on the Order of Merit at the end of this season with Asian Tour cards for 2016.
With the Olympic Games looming in 2016 where golf will be reintroduced as a medal sport, players in the region could earn their spots in Rio de Janeiro by earning Official World Golf Ranking points through the Asian Tour and ADT.
For more information on the ADT, please visit www.
Leading third round scores
209 â Arie IRAWAN (MAS) 73-69-67
212 â Brett MUNSON (USA) 75-67-70, Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 72-68-72, Micah Lauren SHIN (USA) 74-66-72
213 â CHOO Tze Huang (SIN) 76-71-66
214 â Sejun YOON (USA) 73-70-71
215 â Poosit SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 75-71-69
216 â Elmer SALVADOR (PHI) 74-75-67, Jun BERNIS (PHI) 77-73-66, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 74-72-70
