Tajima on top with 70

CARMONA, Cavite -- In an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between a rookie and a veteran campaigner, Soushi Tajima didn't blink and outduelled South African Nico Van Rensburg under the heat of the sun and gusty winds, firing his third straight two-under-par 70 and thrusting into the lead with one round left in the $200,000 Casino Filipino Open golf championship at the Manila Southwoods here yesterday.

In a topsy-turvy third round that saw his co-leaders American Ted Purdy and compatriot Yoshimitsu Fukuzawa tumble down the leaderboard like pins in a bowling alley and top Filipino bet Frankie fall prey to poor driving, Tajima entrenched himself on top with a six-under 210 for a one-shot lead that he hopes to use as springboard to score a first-ever victory on a first-ever stint here.

"Every shot counts tomorrow (today)," said Tajima, who topped this year's Qualifying School in Malaysia but had a forgettable joint 66th place finish in his debut in last week's Malaysia Open after shooting an 81 in the final round.

But he ruled out the possibility of falling into that horrible closing round again here, saying he feels at home playing in a windy course like the Masters Course, a hazard-laden layout made more daunting by the gusty winds, testy pin placements and a firmer putting surface yesterday.

"I'm not intimidated by this course since I used to play with this kind of condition in Japan," said the 23-year-old native of Gummaken, who birdied the last two holes to seize control of the field, then added that another 70 might be enough to net him the crown in this second leg of the Asian PGA Tour.

Majority, however, were terrified by the tough condition of the course, most ruing the winds that came in gusts, some lamenting the pins mostly placed on the edge of the water-guarded greens, and others citing the harder, more sleek putting surface.

Still, Tajima proved up to the challenge, rescuing pars in four times that he went out of regulation and sinking birdie putts from as far as 40 feet on No. 7 while avoiding the hazards like plague to keep his amazing run of under-par rounds. He had only two bogeys, one when he pulled his drive then visited the bunker on No. 15 and the other when he went out of bounds on the next.

But he made up for them with those closing birdies, one a delicate, downhill putt from 20 feet and the last a tap-in.

Three good rounds, however, do not make a champion player and Tajima is expected to have his hands full when he tees off today in the championship flight with American Mike Cunning, another veteran and former US PGA Tour campaigner who is trying to snap a long, long drought in the Davidoff Tour.

Cunning, 40, matched Tajima's 70 to be at 211, while Thai Prayad Marksaeng shot a second straight 70 for a 212. Two scores farther back at 214 are last week's champion Yeh Wei-tze (68) and Purdy, who fumbled with a 74.

Almost all of the nine surviving Filipinos failed to endure the pressure and fell with a thud with Richard Sinfuego and Danny Zarate emerging as the unlikely duo to carry the fight for the embattled hosts with identical 73s.

Sinfuego, a two-time national amateur champion still chasing his first victory in the pro tour in three years, put up a defiant stand against overwhelming odds, and Zarate, who topped the local circuit three years ago, settled with those one-over par cards to remain in the hunt with a 215 total and in a tie with Tatsuhiko Ichihara of Japan (70).

"Five down? Pwede pa yan basta wag lang bibitaw," said Sinfuego, who decided to play it safe after missing a couple of four-foot birdie putts and with the pins placed on the edge of the water-guarded greens.

Van Rensburg, a 13-year pro, reeled from the solid game of Tajima and limped with a 75, dropping to the 216 group that included Fukuzawa, the two-day leader who shot himself in the foot with a 76.

Miñoza, 40, blew his bid right in the first two holes where he dropped four strokes with a missed-green bogey and a wet triple-bogey. He was never the same again after that as he failed to bounce back at the back and settled for 77 for a 219. He slid to a share of 24th after starting out in joint second and staying within two strokes off the pace in the second round Friday.