Coming off worst day, SW still leads by 20

Coming off worst day, SW still leads by 20

BACOLOD – Tom Kim fired a level par 70 for 36 points yesterday and Luigi Wong added 32 as Manila Southwoods slowed down with just 126 third round points in the PAL Interclub's centerpiece Regular Men's Championship at Binitin.

With the elements at their worst, the Carmona-based squad struggled like the rest, but team skipper Thirdy Escano knows that they have accomplished what they set out to do here as they take a 20-point lead over Luisita into the final day.

"I can sleep soundly tonight," Escano said even after Aidric Chan added 30 points and Carlo Corpus 28 for a 405 aggregate as Southwoods moved closer to the tournament's first-ever "four-peat."

Kristopher Arevalo, who signed for a 38 on Friday, failed to count with a 26.

But despite their meager output, the defending champions still played well enough to keep their heads above water and not give Luisita a chance to pull out an upset when the final round is played at tree-lined Marapara today.

"It was a really difficult day for everyone and I can't complain at the way the boys played," Escano said. "The winds were blowing so hard and the course has hardened so much that everyone suffered bad breaks throughout their rounds."

Sean Jean Ramos fired 37 and Luis Miguel Guerrero signed for 33 as Luisita amassed 129 and practically bagged second place over Canlubang with a 385 total.

Benjie Sumulong and the veteran Eddie Bagtas accounted for 31 and 28, respectively, and Luisita threw away the 27 of Josh Jorge to be 16 points ahead of the Sugar Barons going to Marapara.

Josef Bucay accounted for 32 and Jonas Magcalayo 31 for the Sugar Barons, who had 119 and would need a really big final round to be able to dislodge the Luisitans in second spot.

Gido Mandanas and JP De Claro had 28 apiece for Cangolf, which will take a 369 tally into the final day.

This year's Interclub's Platinum sponsors this year are RMN and Manila Times, while major sponsors are Mastercard, The Philippine Manila Standard, Rolls Royce, Bombardier, TV5, Primax, BusinessWorld, Crossover and Fox.

 

Other sponsors include Boeing, PAGCOR, Belmonte Hotel, Eton Properties and Asia Brewery, Inc.