Tabuena keeps lead, Hong struggles

Miguel Tabuena showed ice in his veins as he calmly drained a birdie on the 17th to finish with a two-under par 70 and keep a one-shot lead over Japanese Toru Nakajima after the third round of the P2.5 million ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic at the Sherwood course in Trece Martirez, Cavite yesterday.

Cebuano Charles “Chuckie” Hong, a stalwart from the Cebu Country Club, could not sustain his stellar play during the first two rounds as he finished with an even-par 72 and is four strokes behind with a score of 214.

Hong is aiming for his second professional title after his breakthrough win in Pueblo de Oro in Cagayan de Oro last year.

However, the day still belonged to Tabuena, who fought off Nakajima and regained the solo lead with that closing three-foot birdie for a pair of 35s and a 54-hole haul of 210.

But Nakajima, in top form after placing third in the recent PGT Q-School, stood right behind at 211 after firing the day’s best of 68 in tough condition, setting the stage for a shootout for the top P450,000 purse in the 72-hole championship kicking off this year’s ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio