Candinato, partner near Pro-Am title

Ricar Candinato drew more than what he had asked for from amateur partner Zeus Sara as they produced a stirring 11-under 61 in four-ball format to zero in on the first Sambalilo Golf ProAm crown at the Caliraya Springs Golf Club in Cavinti, Laguna yesterday.

Sara, a 6-handicapper, churned out a brilliant ninebirdie stint as he practically steered his partnership with Candinato from two strokes down with a sustained assault on the par-72 layout.

The Davaoeño ace bogeyed the first hole which Candinato saved then went on a birdie spree on Nos. 5, 8 and 9 before stringing four straight from No. 10. He capped his exploits with backto-back birdies from No. 16 for the team’s 31-30 output.

Counting their 63 in the scramble format Friday, the Candinato-Sara pair pooled a 20-under 124 total to eclipse erstwhile joint leaders Sean Ramos and Laurea Duque’s 125 aggregate after slowing down with 64 in best-ball after a 61.

But half of the starting 76team field are still out on the fairways at presstime although they would need to turn in super low rounds to unseat the Candinato-Sara tandem.

Otherwise, Candinato, a pro from Eastridge where he last played in the local pro circuit many years ago, is headed for a record paycheck of P100,000 while Sara will receive a trophy plus merchandise.

Ramos and Duque’s bid got stymied by a bogey on the par-3 No. 3 as they came up short by one despite a fiery windup of six birdies in the last seven holes on a pair of three-birdie feats from Nos. 12 and 16.

Arnold Villacencio and Terrence Macatangay, who matched the Ramos-Duque pair’s 61 in the first day, also failed to get upand-down on No. 3 and dropped another stroke on the 13th to card a 65 for third at 126.