RP golfers falter, slip to 4th in Putra Cup

THAILAND – The Philippines reeled back with a poor showing on a day of torrid scoring, fumbling with a four-over 220 as Mhark Fernando blew a three-under card and settled for a 72 and Antonio Asistio and Peter Villaber came in with identical two-over 74s in the second round of the Putra Cup at the Santiburi Country Club in Chiangrai here yesterday.

With Rufino Bayron failing to count with an awful 79, the Philippines totaled a 434 after 36 holes of the four-day championship still paced by Thailand, which threatened to blow away the field with six-under 210 for a 421, eight strokes ahead of Malaysia, which shot a one-under 215 for a 429.

Singapore, which beat Thailand to capture the crown at home last year, moved up from fourth to third with a 433 after turning in a one-under 215.

The Filipinos, in joint second with the Malaysians three shots off the Thais after 18 holes, fell back by 13 strokes at fourth place, their bid ruined by Fernando’s wavering finish, Asistio’s day-long struggle and Bayron’s forgettable stint.

Asistio, awesome with an eagle-aided 69 in the first round, groped for form all day, finishing with just one birdie against three bogeys for a 37-37, even yielding his share of the individual lead with a two-day aggregate of 143. He tumbled to joint fifth with Malaysian Gavin Green, who matched par 72, five shots behind Thai ace Thanyakorn Khrongpha, who sizzled with a 68 for a 138.

“I thought I could shoot a six-under under such condition but I blew it. I just got frustrated after I missed a couple of birdie putts inside four feet,” said Fernando in Filipino. The reigning national champion from Calatagan, teeing off at the backside, made the turn at three-under but watched his birdie putts from three feet on No. 1 and from four feet on No. 3 lip out.

He then lost focus with a poor rescue shot on the par-5 No. 6, the ball landing in a hazard. He missed the green on his fourth shot and flubbed a 12-footer for bogey for a 7 before pushing his drive on No. 8 and ending up with a bogey after missing from 10 feet. He stood in joint seventh in individual race with a 144.

“I just couldn’t regain my form,” rued Asistio who three-putted his opening hole on No. 10.

It took a gutsy play from a rookie to avert a total meltdown as Villaber salvaged a 74 despite bogeying two of his last five holes as Bayron, who vowed to shoot an under-par round after an opening 73, further wavered with a 79.

Aside from Thanyakorn’s 68, Thailand also drew a 70 from Ingkhapradit Pawin and a 72 from Sonthirati Porameth, while Malaysia leaned on Ismail Mohammad’s 71 and a pair of 72s by Nicholas Fung and Green.

Singapore also made its move with a 70 and a 71 from Joshua Soo and Choo Tze-Huang, respectively, with Lam Zhiqun adding a 74 for the team’s 215 total.

The RP ladies, meanwhile, continued to falter in the Santi Cup as Dottie Ardina carded a second straight 74, Chihiro Ikeda stumbled to a three-over 75 and Louise Manalo blew a one-under card at the backside with a closing 41 at the front for a 76, giving the Philippines a nine-over 225.

Counting its 224 in the first round, the Filipinas, all members of the ICTSI golf squad, pooled a 449, seizing solo second but falling farther back by 16 strokes behind Thailand, which pulled away with a 433 despite a two-over 218 from Pinrath Loomboonruang’s 72 and Moriya Jutanugarn and Jaruporn Pakakawong’s identical 73s.

Malaysia, tied with RP in the second in the first round, dropped to third with a 454 followed by Singapore (455), Hong Kong (457), Indonesia (464) and Myanmar (483) in that order.

Ardina recovered a bit from a poor backside stint of 39 with birdies on Nos. 1 and 7 but failed to sustain her fightback as she muffed a seven-foot par putt after missing the ninth green for that 35 and a 74 on a hilltop course that continued to play longer than its 6371-yardage with soggy fairways due to rain the past few days.

Ikeda had a one-under card after six holes at the back but reeled back with back-to-back bogeys from No. 16 then fumbled with two bogeys and a double bogey against two birdies at the front for a 38-37 card.

Anya Tanpinco failed to count for the second straight day with an 81.

In the Lion City Cup, the RP juniors hardly moved up to fifth with a 462 after a 228, 13 strokes off Singapore, which wrested control with a 223 for a 449 and a three-shot lead over erstwhile leader Hong Kong, which had a 452 after a 232. Thailand dropped to third at 453 after a 228 while Malaysia remained in fourth with a 461 after a 229.

Jobim Carlos carded a 75 to pace the RP juniors, which also drew a 76 from Chepe Dulay and a 77 from Miguel Tabuena. Fil-Briton Edward Reyes failed to count with an 80.