Sampson Zheng set up a fascinating final-round contest in the US$2 million International Series Philippines with home hero Miguel Tabuena and the in-form Sarit Suwannarut after a sensational 10-under par 62 third round on Saturday.
Thailandās Sarit (69), a two-time International Series winner, had started the day four shots ahead of Tabuena and Kazuki Higa, but he was caught up on the moving day by the fast-charging Zheng, and Tabuena (65), who made two eagles during the round.
The leading trio was one ahead of Japanās Yosuke Asaji (65), while South Africaās LIV Golf star Dean Burmester (65) and another in-form star Kazuki Higa (68) were tied fifth at 14-under. Indiaās Gaganjeet Bhullar (67) made a bogey on his closing hole but advanced to solo seventh place at 13-under, one ahead of Australiaās Marc Leishman (65).
Chinaās 24-year-old Zheng rode a hot putter and jumped into contention with a round that featured eight birdies and an eagle on the par-five eighth hole. The round included four straight birdies from the 14th to 17th holes, followed by a crucial par save on his final hole where he two-putted from 45 feet.
āI just hit a lot of greens and made a lot of putts. I honestly didnāt feel like I did anything super special, but I just stuck to the game plan. Hit a lot of greens, hit a lot of shots very close, and fortunately made some putts,ā said Zheng, whose best finish on the Asian Tour is a tied second at Mandiri Indonesia Open and a tied fourth in International Series, in England, last year.
āThe speed control is practice, and more practice. There really is no secret. The greens have been rolling better every day, and it seems like itās getting a little bit faster towards the end when they got dried out. But yeah, overall, the speed control was really good.
āMy second shot into eighth was probably the best shot I hit all day. I hit a four-hybrid to 24 feet and the eagle gave me a lot of momentum. It got me from two-under for the day to four, and just kind of got the snowball rolling from there. So, that was a very important shot.ā
In Fridayās second round, Tabuena made a hole-in-one and an eagle, and he followed up on Saturday with eagles on the par-five third and 16th holes. On the third, Tabuena smashed a four-iron from 257 yards and hit a five-iron from 235 yards downwind on the 16th.
Playing with a blue ribbon in memory of his friend, Paolo āPaoweeā Tantoco, son of Rico Tantoco, the owner of Sta. Elena Golf Club, Tabuena said: āTo be honest, I totally forgot my score out there. I was just cruising and found myself in a real flow state ā which is exactly what I wanted to achieve at the start of the day. I didnāt want to think about my score or what the other players were doing. I just wanted to focus on my own game and execute my plan, and it was nice to be able to do that today.
āI havenāt played in front of that many people in a long time. It just makes it even more special that itās happening here at home. Hopefully, I can get the job done tomorrow.ā
After making 16 birdies in his first 36 holes, Sarit could add only five in the third, apart from two bogeys ā one of which came on the par-five eighth.
āIt was a tough day. I didnāt hit my driver as good as the first two days, and the pins were a little bit tougher. So, Iāll say overall solid, but not as good as I wanted,ā said the 27-year-old, who was leading by four shots the previous week in Macao, but finished tied fourth.
āI feel the same as I did in Macao. The number I have to shoot to be able to win, Iām just going to focus on that and try to do my best to outplay the other guys. Not only the other two guys, but you can see how low everyone is scoring today. Someone could shoot 10-under again and jump up the leaderboard. But yeah, Iām going to play my best, and letās see what happens after that.ā
Star attraction and former world No1 Dustin Johnson shot a four-under 68 to move up to tied 26th place at eight-under. His 4Aces GC teammate and former Masters champion, Patrick Reed, shot a 71 and slipped to tied 19th place at nine-under.
International Series Philippines is the sixth of nine elevated events on the 2025 Asian Tour schedule.
