Rawang [SELANGOR]: A back-nine birdie binge propelled Rupert Zaragosa III of the Philippines to the sole lead after the third round of the 114th Malaysian Amateur Open presented by Vascory AG and ICE Mobile on Saturday.
The 18-year-old, who held a share of the lead overnight, looked out of sorts early on, dropping three shots around the turn but turned on the style with five birdies in his closing seven holes to sign for a polished two-under 70 at Templer Park Country Club.
Zaragosa totalled five-under 211 to open up a two-shot lead over Indonesian youngster Naarajie Emerald Ramadhanputra, who traded four birdies against two bogeys to return with an admirable one-under 71.
Joint halfway leader Witchayanon Chothirunrungrueng of Thailand slumped to a two-over 74 to fall four shots off the pace while Lachlan Barker of the Australia (70) and Yuan-Wei Lin (72) were further a stroke back in a share of fourth on even-par 216.
Seasoned campaigner Chan Tuck Soon was Malaysia’s best-placed participant in joint sixth on one-over 217 after recovering from a scrappy start with four birdies on the back nine for a round of 73.
An eagle on the 12th kept Ervin Chang firmly in contention until two out-of-bound drives on the tough par-five 15th for a bogey nine extinguished any title hopes the teenager might have had. Chang winded up with a six-over 78 to slip to tied-15th on five-over 221.
Zaragosa cut a frustated figure as he dropped to even-par for the tournament after bogeys on eighth, 10th and 11th but quickly reversed his fortunes with four consecutive gains from the 12th.
“I admonished myself after the 11th and it sort of re-jolted my mind. I wasn’t focused and it was beginning to show with the bogeys. I kept talking to myself all the way to the 12th teebox and it helped clear my mind,” said the 18-year-old, who wielded his long irons with confidence despite struggling for distance off the tees.
He will aim to follow in the footsteps on Mhark Fernando, who was the last Filipino to triumph in 2010 at Damai Laut Golf & Country Club.
“I’ll take a two-shot cushion with the course playing as tough as it is but I need to stay on top of my game and stay patient tomorrow. If I keep it simple and play well, that will take care of the outcome,” said the Filipino number two.
A conservative approach kept Naarajie in the hunt but the 16-year-old Bandung native admits that he left some chances out there.
“It was a fair result and I’m pretty happy with my round, even if I felt like I left some birdies out there. The pin position were really challenging and I was more conservative in shaping my shots. I might have to be a little more aggressive tomorrow but I’m not putting any pressure on myself,” noted the Indonesian.
Leading third round scores (Par-72)
Malaysian unless stated
211 – Ruperto Zaragosa III (PHI) 71-70-70
213 – Naarajie Emerald Ramadhanputra (INA) 69-73-71
215 – Witchayanon Chothirunrungrueng (THA) 72-69-74
216 – Lachlan Barker (AUS) 72-74-70, Yuan-Wei Lin (TPE) 72-72-72
217 – CHAN TUCK SOON 73-71-73, Josh Armstrong (AUS) 73-76-68
218 – Edgar Oh (SIN) 74-75-69, Wei-Hsuan Wang (TPE) 78-70-70, AMIR NAZRIN JAILANI 73-73-72, Chi Huang (TPE) 71-73-74
219 – Abdul Hadi Uda Thith (SIN) 72-75-72
220 – Kevin Caesario Akhbar (INA) 72-76-72, Ryan Monsalve (PHI) 74-72-74
221 – Runchanapong Youprayong (THA) 76-71-74, Kyaw Thet Oo (MYN) 75-75-71, Napong Sriparsit (THA) 77-69-75, MUHD AFIF MOHD RAZIF 76-74-71, ERVIN CHANG 70-73-78
