MANILA, Philippines - Juvic Pagunsan sustained his second day charge with an equally impressive five-under par 65 as the Filipino bet moved within two strokes off joint leaders in the third round of Thailand Open yesterday.
Pagunsan, enjoying fine form this season, birdied the par-3 No. 16 for the second straight day but failed to duplicate his birdie-birdie windup on the par-5 holes and wound up with a bogey-free 32-33 card at the Laguna Phuket Golf Club.
It was Pagunsan’s second 65 after an opening 70, putting the 30-year-old shotmaker within two shots off the pace with a 10-under 200 heading into the final 18 holes of the $500,000 event.
Pagunsan, who finished joint third in the Asian International, the kickoff leg of this year’s Asian Tour, also in Thailand, birdied three of the first five holes, holed in another birdie on the 10th then picked up his fifth birdie in another day of torrid scoring at No. 16 as he jumped from joint 24th to a share of fourth place with Aussie David Bransdon, who had a 69.
Angelo Que bungled a solid start with a shaky finish, dropping four strokes in the last three holes, including a triple-bogey 8 on the par-5 18th as the reigning Philippine Open champion fumbled with a 71 and tumbled to 25th at 205.
Jyoti Randhawa made the biggest leap in the day as the Indian ace sizzled with an eight-under 62 to grab a piece of the lead at 198 with Rhys Davies of South Africa and SSP Chowrasia, also of India, who had 67 and 68, respectively.
Tony Lascuña also shot a 67 and moved from joint 32nd to a share of 15th at 203 to remain in the hunt for top honors.
But Artemio Murakami, Frankie Miñoza and Mars Pucay struggled with over par rounds with Murakami carding a 71-209, Miñoza turning in a 72-210 and Pucay fumbling with a 73-211.