Shin hangs on; Ardina pulls away

MANILA, Philippines - Korean Shin Jin Woo survived a backside meltdown and held on to a two-stroke lead despite a three-over 75 as Andres Saldana and Gio Gandionco pressed their bid with 71s in the rainy third round of the WWWExpress-DHL Amateur Golf Championships at Canlubang Golf and Country Club in Laguna yesterday.

Shin reeled from three-straight bogeys from No. 12 and wound up with a 75 for a 54-hole aggregate of 222, enabling Saldana and Gandionco to gain ground and bounce back into contention by firing the day’s only two under-par cards for 224 and 225, respectively.

Fil-German Keanu Jahns blew a sizzling eagle-spiked 33 at the front with a closing 39 for a 72 as he slipped to joint third with Gandionco heading to the final round of the annual event put up by WWWExpress and DHL and presented by Globe Telecom.

But while a wild finale is seen in boys’ play, top ICTSI bet Dottie Ardina threatened to blow away the field in the distaff side as she shot an eagle-aided one-under 71 to storm to a six-shot lead over teammate and erstwhile co-leader Sunshine Baraquiel.

Ardina, priming up for next month’s defense of the Queen Sirikit crown, eagled the par-5 17th and gunned down four birdies against five bogeys for a 35-36 round and a 36-hole haul of 145 for a big six-shot cushion heading to the final 18 holes of the tournament conducted by the National Golf Association of the Phils. and serving as second leg of the 11-stage NGAP-Globe Amateur Golf Circuit.

Baraquiel lost her way in the face of Ardina’s solid stint, hobbling with 39-38 for a 77 and a 151 while Marvin Monsalve moved up to third at 152 after a 74 as Jayvie Agojo, who also shot a 74 in the first round, skied to a 79 for a 153 in the event backed by Pancake House and Golf Depot as other sponsors and AirPhil Express as official airline.

Shin, playing out of Mimosa, looked headed for another solid round after seizing the halfway lead with a 70 as he birdied the par-5 No. 2. But he dropped two strokes on his way out, bounced back with a birdie on the 11th but wavered with those string of bogeys, which Saldana and Gandionco pounced on.

Saldana, member of the Alabang Country Club in the PAL Interclub, hit three birdies against two bogeys while Gandionco, who anchored Cebu Country Club’s title romp in the recent Interclub, bucked a double-bogey mishap on No. 5 with four birdies in the next six holes. He knocked down another birdie on No. 14 but bogeyed Nos. 16 and 17 and missed gaining a share of the lead in the event.