NAMCHOK’S MASTERSTROKE
Thai one shot adrift after stunning round
>> MANILA: Thailand’s Namchok Tantipokhakul and Arnond Vongvanij trailed leaders by just one shot after three rounds of the Manila Masters yesterday.
Namchok fired a stunning nineunder-par 63 to shoot up the leaderboard while overnight leader Arnond had a two-under 70 to share third place with Asian Tour rookie Micah Lauren Shin of the United States and the Philippines’ Justin Quiban on 14-under 202 at the US$1 million (approximately 33 million baht) event.
Miguel Tabuena put himself in prime position to become the first Filipino to win the tournament when he fired a flawless eight-under 64 to share the top spot with India’s Jyoti Randhawa.
Tabuena’s last Asian Tour victory was on home soil in 2015 and the prospect of adding another on his home course at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club remains real after he signed for a three-day total of 15-under 201.
Randhawa, an eight-time Asian Tour winner, also had his title hopes raised when he moved into contention for his first Tour victory since 2009. Like Tabuena, the 45-year-old also had a bogey-free card, which was marked by five birdies on holes six, seven, 14, 15 and 18.
Namchok was in hot form on the front nine, firing six birdies (1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8) against one bogey (6). The 30-year-old maintained his intensity on the back nine, picking up four more birdies (10, 15, 17 and 18) for the lowest round so far this week.
Namchok had his first top-10 on the Asian Tour this season at the Indonesia Open last month.
“I putted really well today. Everything was good for me. My caddy helped me a lot too,” said Namchok, who is a one-time winner on the Asian Development Tour.
“I sank the birdie putt from about 35 feet on the 10th hole and it was the highlight for me today. I had a good finish in Indonesia a few weeks ago so I am hoping to better that result this week.”
Arnond, who shared the secondround lead with compatriot Phachara Khongwatmai and Quiban, remained in the mix after shooting four birdies and two bogeys.
“My goal for today was to hang in there and stay in contention to give myself a chance tomorrow. I did just that and there’s still one more round to go,” said Arnond, whose modified swing change continued to pay dividends.
“Tomorrow, it’s going to come down to whether I trust my swing or not and trust the hard work which I have put in for the last one and a half years. I just want to stick to that and not revert to my old swing. If I can do that, it’s mission accomplished for me.”
Phachara slipped to joint seventh place after a 71. He was tied with India’s SSP Chawrasia (69) and American Jarin Todd (69).
Malaysia’s Gavin Green, who currently leads the Asian Tour Order of Merit, is four shots back of the leaders in a share of 10th place after rounds of 71, 67 and 67.