Juvic blows bid with triple bogey

Juvic Pagunsan fought back from five strokes down with a string of birdies to grab the lead on No. 15, only to throw away the title with a triple-bogey 6 on par-3 17th as the Filipino shotmaker settled for joint third with a 71 in the Mercedes-Benz Masters Singapore topped by Thai Pariya Junhasavasdikul at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club in Singapore yesterday.

It was sorry windup for Pagunsan, who birdied No. 15 to go four under but fumbled with a triple-bogey six on the par-3 17th to lose grip of the championship. He wound up with a 71 for joint third at 280 with Thai Nakul Vichitryuthasastr, who closed out with a 70. He took home $2,851.

Junhasavasdikul birdied three of the last six holes, including No. 16, to fire a 69 and a 277 as he posted a two-stroke victory over erstwhile leader Lam Chih Bing of Singapore, who settled for runner-up honors with a 75 for a 279.

Junhasavasdikul took home the top $8,126 purse while Lam wound up with $5,616.

Michael Bibat, who started the final round in joint second four shots off Lam, succumbed to pressure and limped home with a three-over 75 as he tumbled to a share of eighth with Indonesian Maan Nasim, carding a 68, at 283.

Jay Bayron shot a 69 and gained a share of sixth with Malaysian ace Danny Chia, who also had a 69, at 282.

Pagunsan birdied No. 2 for the fourth straight time then added three straight birdies from No. 9 to bounce back into contention. He stumbled with a missed green bogey on the 14th but rammed in another birdie on the next to seize the lead as Lam reeled back with bogeys although Junhasavasdikul made his move with a birdie on No. 16 to pull within one of Pagunsan.