Sinfuego gains lead with third straight 67

CARMONA, Cavite — Talk about consistency and Richard Sinfuego continued to flaunt it with eerie regularity as he turned in a third straight 67 yesterday to wrest a two-stroke lead from two-day leader Rey Pagunsan in the third round of the MRT Southwoods Open at the Masters Course here.

That he did it despite yielding so much yardage off the tee to his power-hitting flightmates and club pros Pagunsan and Cassius Casas spoke well of the caliber of the player from Canlubang, who relied mainly on his long irons in setting up three birdie putts on the front side (33) and a trusted putter that simply turned hot at the back.

Many times a contender but never a winner in a five-year pro career, Sinfuego guns for the elusive crown with a remarkable 201 aggregate, 15 under par over a course that varies from hole-to-hole and has earned a worldwide distinction as one of the toughest courses in the region.

But the stocky built, soft-spoken Sinfuego made it look easy with a string of five-under cards he carved behind a series of well-calculated drives and iron shots that complemented well with his steady putting stroke on the unpredictable surface of the Masters.

He grabbed a two-shot lead from Pagunsan, the Japan PGA Tour-bound pro who endlessly teased Sinfuego, a buddy and a former national teammate, for his short drives but finally relinquished the lead he had held for two days when he bogeyed No. 12 off the bunker. Pagunsan, however, hung on to card a 70 (34-36) for a 203 and ensured a two-man shootout for the top purse of P100,000 as Casas uncharacteristically skied to a 77 and bowed out of contention with a 211, 10 strokes off the pace.

In the post-round interview, Pagunsan continuously taunted Sinfuego for having been outdriven by him but the latter simply took the ribbing in stride and instead vowed to come up with another solid round in a bid to complete a successful campaign here.

"Alam ko namang wala akong laban sa paluan sa kanila noon pa. Basta ang diskarte ko lang, pa-fairway-fairway at unahan na lang sa target," said Sinfuego, whose average drive of 280-290 yards proved shorter than Pagunsan’s effort of 300-plus yard drives.

Indeed, Sinfuego proved better than his rivals as he birdied No. 4 from 16 feet and Nos. 7 and 8 from five feet. But it was his spectacular 24-foot birdie putt on the par-3 No. 13 that anchored his charge as he dropped another birdie putt from about the same distance on the next hole before sinking another bending putt, also from 24 feet, on No. 16.

"Sa putting na lang talaga magkakatalo dito," said Sinfuego, who had to go 2 clubs over than what Pagunsan and Casas had used in tackling the challenging, hazard-laden layout.

Canadian Rick Gibson took Casas’ place in the final threesome today as the two-time Nat’l PGA champion fired a 69 behind a three-birdie splurge on the front side although he stood seven strokes off the pace with a 208.

"It would be nice to play in the final threesome since you’ll know if somebody would blow a tire," said Gibson, who failed to get birdie chances on his homeward trip as the winds whipped up a bit and unexpected rains slowed down the field in the last three holes.

Tony Lascuna struggled with a 73 and fell into fourth place at 210 while Ruben Sasutil, another Canlubang bet, shot a 69 to tie Casas at 211.

Casas, whose brilliant 66 Friday sparked hopes of another charge by the most fancied player in the fold, dropped three strokes on the first three holes and finished the round the way he started it — struggling. He closed out with a double-bogey 7 on the par-5 18th.

The rest, including pre-tournament favorite Robert Pactolerin, are already considered longshots as they stood 11 or 12 strokes behind Sinfuego with 18 holes to play in this event presented by College Assurance Plan and sponsored by Metro Rail Transit, Camp John Hay Development Corp. and Fil-Estate Group of Companies.