LLOYD Go took a huge styep on moving day at the ICTSI Palos Verdes Championship on Thursday in Davao.
Birdies in the first three holes set the tone and Go carded a third-round 65 for an eight-stroke lead over Nilo Salahog, Sean Ramos and Angelo Que.
“The course is scoreable if you find the fairways, and that’s most important thing for me here,” said Go, who is at 14-under 202 through 54 holes of the second leg of this year’s Philippine Golf Tour sponsored by ICTSI.
Salahog matched the course record eight-under 64 highlighted by an eagle for a 210 total.
Ramos hit three birdies in the last seven holes to save a 70, while Que came up with a 71.
Ira Alido survived a roller-coaster round and finished with a 72 as he slipped to fifth at 211 followed by Keanu Jahns (71-212), Reymon Jaraula (72-213), Michael Bibat (73-214), and Guido van der Valk (71-215).
Go maintains a cautious approach as he goes for the top prize of P350,000 in the P2 million event.
“I don’t have any specific target score, just taking it hole-by-hole. If I execute a good tee shot, I can be aggressive with my approach shots, but if not, I’ll focus on saving pars,” said Go, describing his strategy.
He made eagle on the par-5 No. 8, where he split the fairway with his drive and followed up with a 9-iron shot from 150 yards to 20 feet off the cup, then drained the putt.
Despite a missed green bogey on the next, he birdied the 10th, conceded another shot on the 11th but birdied Nos. 15 and 17 to maintain a significant lead over the stellar field.
“So far, it’s been pretty good, including my putting. Hopefully, everything goes well,” said the former national team standout, inching closer to ending a six-year quest for a breakthrough in the professional ranks.
Two shots behind Go after 36 holes, Que and Alido had hoped to narrow Go’s lead in the pivotal round but both failed to match his explosive start.
Alido struggled with a bogey-bogey start. Although he rebounded with birdies on Nos. 3 and 11 and an eagle on the eighth, he faltered with bogeys on Nos. 12 and 14 to conclude with a 72 in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and supported by PGTI official apparel Kampfortis Golf.
From joint 15th, Salahog snapped a run of four pars with three straight birdies and an eagle from No. 5 as he went five-under in four holes. He sustained his charge with birdies on Nos. 10, 11 and 15 to put himself in title contention again.
“I have contended many times, too many to count. But still, it’s not enough in the end,” said Salahog, who tied for second at Riviera in 2020.
Image credits: BERNARD TESTA