Manila (Philippines), Oct 26 (IANS) 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.
Thailand’s 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, who made two eagles and three birdies for a flawless 65.
The leading trio was one ahead of Japan’s Yosuke Asaji (65), while South Africa’s LIV Golf star Dean Burmester (65) and another in-form star Kazuki Higa (68) were tied fifth at 14-under. India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar (67) made a bogey on his closing hole but advanced to solo seventh place at 13-under, one ahead of Australia’s Marc Leishman (65).
Bhullar carded a five-under round to sit just four shots off the lead, delivering an almost flawless performance before a late bogey on the 18th slightly marred an otherwise strong showing.
“I played really well today. I probably hit 13 out of 14 fairways and 16 out of 18 greens, so I kept some really good momentum going. I drove the ball well, hit my irons close, and gave myself plenty of birdie opportunities. I also made a couple of really good up-and-downs for par – especially on holes 11 and 17 – which helped keep the round on track. Overall, it was a solid day of golf, just a small miss on the final hole where I couldn’t get up and down, but I’m happy with how I played.”
Karandeep Kochhar also put in a strong performance, carding a five-under 67 to break into the top 20 going into the final round, while Ajeetesh Sandhu posted a level par 72, highlighted by a memorable eagle on eight, to sit T50 on five under.
China’s 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.
“I just hit a lot of greens and made a lot of putts. I honestly didn’t 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,” 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.
“My second shot into eight 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.”
In Friday’s 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 ‘Paowee’ Tantoco, son of Rico Tantoco, the owner of Sta. Elena Golf Club, Tabuena said: “To be honest, I totally forgot my score out there. I was just cruising and found myself in a real flow state — which is exactly what I wanted to achieve at the start of the day. I didn’t 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.
“I haven’t played in front of that many people in a long time. It just makes it even more special that it’s happening here at home. Hopefully, I can get the job done tomorrow.”
After making 16 birdies in his first 36 holes, Sarit could add only five in the third, apart from two bogeys – one of which came on the par-five eighth.
“It was a tough day. I didn’t hit my driver as good as the first two days, and the pins were a little bit tougher. So, I’ll say overall solid, but not as good as I wanted,” said the 27-year-old, who was leading by four shots the previous week in Macao, but finished tied fourth.
“I feel the same as I did in Macao. The number I have to shoot to be able to win, I’m 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, I’m going to play my best, and let’s see what happens after that.”
Star attraction and former world No. 1 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. The International Series Philippines is the sixth of nine elevated events on the 2025 Asian Tour schedule.
–IANS
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