Khon Kaen, Thailand, February 16 - Golden oldies Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and Filipino Antonio Lascuna set up a final-day shootout in the US$100,000 Singha Esan Open after contrasting rounds on Saturday.
Prayad, a six-time winner on the Asian Tour who celebrated his 47th birthday last month, rode a hot putter to a 66 to join 42-year-old Lascuna, who had a day to forget on the greens en route to a 70, in the lead on 14-under-par 202.
The duo are three strokes ahead of Sattaya Supupramai (70) and Thanyakon Khrongpha (69) in the season-opening event on the ASEAN PGA Tour at Singha Park Golf Club.
Prayad closed the gap on Lascuna, who held a three-shot overnight advantage over the field, thanks to six birdies including one at the last which saw him grab a share of the lead.
“The key to this course is on the greens. I am using a new ball this week - it gives me more distance - and it has taken a few days to get used to putting with it,” said Prayad, who won the Singha Esan Open in 2007.
“My putting was better today - I had a good feeling.”
The local hope believes that putting will be crucial to the outcome of what looks like a matchplay showdown between the two experienced campaigners.
“I think whoever putts better tomorrow will win. Antonio is a good putter, I know that. But I have played the course many times and can benefit from that knowledge,” he said.
“Although I am 47 I practiced very hard for this season and am still hungry for more victories. It would be good to win the Singha Esan Open again.”
Lascuna, bidding for back-to-back wins on the ASEAN PGA Tour after his triumph in the 2012/13 season-ending Sabah Masters last month, suffered from a lack of feeling on the greens in a round where he mixed four birdies with two bogeys.
“After the fifth hole I knew that I had no feeling with the putter and set myself the target of shooting two or three under,” said Lascuna, who says he is playing the best golf of his career after giving up alcohol. “I am happy with that (two under 70).
“I had a couple of silly bogeys at the eighth and 12th holes after a mishit and then a wrong yardage.”
Lascuna added that he was relishing the shootout with Prayad.
“He is a good player and very consistent,” he said. “It will be good playing with him in the final round.”
Thailand’s Pipatpong Naewsuk, finding his feet again in professional golf after completing two years Army service, caught the eye in the third round by soaring up the leaderboard to joint fifth place with a bogey-free 66.
“I got used to the speed of the greens over the first few days and putted really well today,” said the 22-year-old Pipatpong, who won individual and team gold medals at the South-East Asian Games in 2007. “This is one of my best rounds as a professional.”
Indonesian Rory Hie had another solid round, adding 70 to his prior two rounds for a total of 213. Three birdies and a single bogey saw him climb 13 places to a share of 33rd, still 5 shots back from a top ten position and eleven shots back from the lead.
Fourteen-year-old Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul, who turned professional last month, won the ladies division by three strokes with a three-round total of seven-under 209 (71-71-67). She picked up a cheque for 32,000 baht (approximately US$1,070).
Leading scores after the third round of the Singha Esan Open on Saturday (Thai unless stated)
202 - Prayad Marksaeng 66-70-66, Antonio Lascuna (PHI) 66-66-70
205 - Sattaya Supupramai 69-66-70, Thanyakon Khrongpha 71-65-69
206 - Pipatpong Naewsuk 71-69-66, Mars Pucay (PHI) 65-70-71
207 - Baek Seuk-hyun (KOR) 68-73-66, Panuphol Pittayarat 66-72-69, Carl Santos-Ocampo (PHI) 65-71-71
208 - Kittiroj Chantharothai 65-72-71, Sam Cyr (US) 68-68-72
Selected
213 - Rory Hie (INA) 75-68-70
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