Bibat fires 67, firms up medal bid in golf

DOHA — Michael Bibat turned in his best round in years — a bogey-free five-under par 67 as he stayed in medal contention in the individual competition in the Asian Games here Sunday.

Bibat, the former Singapore Open champion, gunned down five birdies at the Doha Golf Club and went on to fire a 34-33 round for that 67 and a 54-hole aggregate of 209, seven under par.

That put him in fifth spot in the individual race with the Filipino bet, who opened with a 70 but settled for an even par 72 in the second round, hoping to sustain his momentum in a bid to vie for at least the bronze medal.

He stood four shots off Pan Cheng Tsung of Taiwan, who had a 205 after a 68, while Kim Kyung Tae (67) and Kim Doo Hoon Sr. (73) take the next two spots with 206 and 207, respectively. Another Korean, Kang Sung Hoon, is in fourth with a 208.

But the RP team virtually kissed its hopes goodbye as Jay Bayron made a two-under par 70 and Marvin Dumandan continued to struggle with a two-over 74. Gene Bondoc didn’t count with a 75.

Although it matched its first effort of 211, five-under, the RP men’s team stayed too far behind the leaders at 641 although it moved up from sixth to fifth with one round left to play. Bayron, who sizzled with a 68 in the first round, is in joint 10th with a 212. Korea continued to show the way in team play with a 621 after a 208 for a nine-stroke lead over Taiwan (215-630).

Japan is in third with a 631 after a 211. The RP ladies also failed to recover with the disqualification of Anya Tanpinco although Dottie Ardina finally recovered from a poor 79 start with a four-under 69 as she moved to joint 12th with a 218. Cyna Rodriguez, however, faltered with a 76. — Dante Navarro