Dumandan ties Zarate on 3 late birdies

LIPA CITY, Batangas , Philippines  – On the brink of a meltdown, Marvin Dumandan turned things around with a birdie-binge in the closing holes and gave himself a crack at another crown in the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour.

Dumandan birdied three of the last five holes to salvage an even par 72 and catch Danny Zarate, fumbling with a 74, at the helm heading into the final round of the ICTSI Classic at the Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club here yesterday.

Two behind Zarate at the start of the round at the windswept layout, Dumandan reeled farther back with a birdie-less 39 at the backside where he teed off. But the 29-year-old Davaoeño came through with back-to-back birdies from No. 6 then holed out with another birdie on the 514-yard par-5 ninth for that 33-72 and a 139.

“It was tough on the greens today with pin placements mostly on the edge,” said Dumandan, who opened his bid for a second straight title and the top P200,000 purse in the circuit with a 67 Wednesday.

“This will all go down to putting,” said Dumandan, who bested a crack field to win the ICTSI Apo Golf Invitational in Davao.

After a bogey-free 65 made under tough playing condition in the afternoon Wednesday, Zarate found the going tougher in the morning flight yesterday, firing three birdies against the same number of bogeys and making an uncharacteristic three-putt, double bogey mishap on No. 14 for a 36-38 card.

“Unlike yesterday, my putts just won’t go in this time,” said Zarate, who finished in the top 15 at Valley, Sherwood and Davao legs last year but gained a joint third place finish in the recent The Country Club Invitational won by Artemio Murakami.

Dumandan and Zarate stood three shots clear off Jay Bayron (71), Christopher delos Santos (71), Joenard Rates (74) and Erwin Arcilla (69), who all had 142s while Juanito Pagunsan, impressive with a 69 in the first round, slid to sixth with a 143 after a two-over 74 in a tie with Jomar Pepito, who turned in a 71.