MANILA, Philippines — Sean Ramos stayed within striking distance of the leaders, bouncing back with a 68 in the third round of the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage at Lake View Resort and Golf Club in Hua Hin, Thailand on Thursday.
The 20-year-old Filipino remained tied for 10th, keeping his bid for low medalist honors alive heading into the crucial fourth round of the five-day qualifiers offering 35 cards for next year’s Asian Tour.
While his three-under-par effort on the A/B course fell short of his blistering opening round of 64, Ramos is now six shots adrift of Kyungnam Kang, who surged ahead with a 65 to post a 54-hole total of 16-under 197.
Kang’s fiery round netted him a three-stroke lead over Christopher Hickman, Takumi Murakami and Taiki Yoshida, who matched 200s after rounds of 65, 66 and 67, respectively.
Ajeetesh Sandhu and halfway leader Jack Thompson stood a shot further back at 201 after 68 and 70, respectively, while Lawry Flynn, Yosuke Asaji, and Doyeob Mun are tied for seventh at 202 after respective rounds of 65, 67 and 70.
Ramos began the day four strokes behind Thompson after a gutsy 71 at the tougher C/D layout and looked poised for another red-hot round after birdies on two of his first six holes. However, missed birdie opportunities and a bogey on the 12th tempered his momentum.
He added another birdie on the par-5 15th and parred his way in, finishing with a pair of 34s for a 10-under-par 203, tied with Bai Zhenghai, who climbed the leaderboard with a 66.
The pressure mounted for the surviving 143-player field as only the top 70 players will advance to Saturday’s final round, where the top 35 (excluding ties) will secure the coveted cards for 2025.
Carl Corpus scrambled to a three-birdie, two-bogey 70 at the A/B course, putting him in a tie for 45th. He’ll need a low score in Friday’s fourth round to stay in contention for one of the coveted spots.
Meanwhile, Aidric Chan struggled to find consistency despite a birdie-eagle combination on Nos. 1 and 2 as he fumbled with five bogeys against two birdies, leaving him with an even-par 71.
Chan slipped to joint 64th and must deliver an exceptional performance on the challenging C/D course to avoid elimination.
With a three-shot lead heading into the fourth round, Kang looked to extend his dominance and secure the low medalist honors. For Ramos and the other Filipinos, the stakes couldn’t be higher as they head to the tougher C/D layout, aiming to keep their Asian Tour dreams alive.