Go fuels drive for Asian Development Tour breakthrough with 66

MANILA, Philippines — Foiled the last time out, Lloyd Go moved in strong contention for a breakthrough win on the Asian Development Tour again.

Go put together a superb 66 he spiked with an eagle as he closed in on joint leaders Shahriffuddin Ariffin of Malaysia and Thai Denwit Boriboonsub in the third round of the Bangladesh Open at the Kurmitola Gofl Club in Bangladesh Friday.

The power-hitting Go shot six birdies and holed out with an eagle on the par-5 No. 6, which he birdied in the first two rounds, against three bogeys, the last on No. 18 that stalled his fiery charge in moving day in the $150,000 tournament of the Asian Development Tour.

The ace Cebuano shotmaker, due for a big win after losing to Chinese Chen Guxin in sudden death in the BRG Open in Vietnam last Sept., worked his way up from joint ninth with two birdies in the first three holes. He bogeyed the fourth but picked up two strokes on No. 6 for a frontside 33.

He rode on that eagle feat and birdied three of the first four holes at the back but yielded a stroke on a missed green mishap on the par-3 No. 14, which he, however, regained with a birdie on No. 17 to pull within one of Ariffin and Boriboonsub.

But Go, who reached the semifinals of the recent ICTSI Villamor Match Play, bogeyed the par-4 18th for the second straight day although his pair of 33s and a 207 tied him at third with local ace Danny Chia, who shot a 67.

Ariffin matched Go’s five-under card but in a more impressive manner, finishing with a bogey-free 32-34 to tie Boriboonsub, who carded a 70, at 205.

The two other Filipino bets who made the cut faltered as Fidel Concepcion hardly recovered from a second 76 with a 74 and fell to joint 40th at 222 while Ira Alido, who sparked hopes for a big finish after shooting a 67 and moving to joint ninth with Go Thursday, bombed out with an 83 to tumble to a share of 46th at 224.

Over in the Asian Tour, Miguel Tabuena carded a second straight 70 to safely make the cut but the two-time Philippine Open titlist fell by seven behind Thai Itthipat Buranatanyarat, who followed up his opening 65 with a 68 for a 133 and a two-stroke lead over local ace Siddikur Rahman, who battled back with a 66 to assume the challenger’s role at 135 heading to the weekend play of the Bangladesh Open at the Kurmitola Golf Club, also Friday.

Justin Quiban, meanwhile, blew a five-under card with a faltering finish, bogeying three of the last four holes as he settled for a 69 and a share of 24th at 141, eight shots behind the Thai veteran campaigner.

Quiban, who struggled with a one-over 72 Thursday, birdied Nos. 7 and 8 to get going then hit three more birdies in a five-hole stretch from No. 11 to barge into Top 10. But he made back-to-back bogeys from No. 14 and failed to recover and yielded another stroke on the closing hole for a 33-36.

Tabuena, on the other hand, parred the first seven holes at the back where he started and bogeyed the par-5 17th for the second straight day. But the ICTSI-backed ace toughened up at the front, netting him two birdies to save another one-under par round.