2006 Philippine Open - Round 3: Battling Strange holds one shot lead

Australian Scott Strange battled tough conditions to shoot a level par 72 and open up a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Philippine Open.

The Aussie swapped four birdies against just as many bogeys at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club's East course for a three-day total of six-under-par 210. Chinese Taipei's Yeh Chang-ting, who led overnight with Strange, carded a 73 with two late bogeys for second place in the Asian Tour event.

Local hope Cookie Lao gave himself a shot of winning his home Open, Asia's oldest national Championship, with a 70 that left him in tied third place on 214 with Englishman Chris Rodgers, who stumbled with a 75.

Lu Wei-lan and Hsieh Chin-sheng, both from Chinese Taipei, are tied fifth, five off the pace while Angelo Que of the Philippines gave himself an outside title shot with a 70 for a 216 total.

On another searing day, which saw the greens firming up, the field struggled to break par, with Strange battling gamely in his attempt for a second Asian Tour title. "It was frustrating. I hit a lot of good putts out there. But the ball didn't go it. I played pretty good. It's important to have shots ahead looking at the way everyone was putting up a few numbers up there," said Strange, currently 16th on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit.

"It's pretty sapping. It's a grind, it's hot. You're drinking as much as you can but it keeps coming out. I just told myself to hit it down the fairway and then hit the green. You don't want to scramble around here," he said.

It was a roller-coaster round for Strange and his last bogey of the day came at the notorious par three 17th, which has a dome-shaped like green and has been ranked amongst the top-two hardest holes this week. "I missed the green but I made a good four there. That was a tough pin. I hit it to six foot from the bunker but it had a five feet break.

"That hole is going to determine what's going to happen. If you make a two or three there, you are picking up one or two shots on the field. That pin there, you've got to throw a dart in to get close," said Strange, who has held the lead since the first round.

Thirteen years after his triumph in the Philippine Open, which is celebrating its 90th edition this week, the 39-year-old Yeh stayed firmly in contention despite the setback of dropping two bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes. He shot three birdies and two other bogeys.

"I started missing shots coming in. The wind picked up and it was hard to get the yardages right and I missed a few shots. But still, I'm only one back and even if you're two behind, you still have a chance," said Yeh, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour.

"I think eight under will be the winning score and that means I've got to aim for a 69. That'll be my goal."

The 31-year-old Lao is seeking his career breakthrough and a five-birdie round launched him into the frame. "I'm very pleased. I like where I'm at right now. Again, I hit it consistently and putted decent. I just played steady which you need to do out here," said Lao.

The Filipino was only one of five players to birdie the 17th, striking a sweet seven iron to four feet of the pin. "I was happy to do that," he said. "I definitely need to go under par tomorrow to have a chance of winning."

His compatriot Juvic Pagunsan, second in the Open in 2004 when he was still an amateur, was high on the leaderboard at five-under for the championship with three holes remaining but was brought down on his knees by the treacherous East course, dropping five shots coming home.

"I just had a nightmare. They are really tough. It's hard," said Pagunsan, playing in his rookie professional season. "I think I still have a chance. The game is not over yet. I was in contention in 2004 and learned from there that you have always to be careful and take it one shot at a time."

Rodgers, who won the Asian Tour Qualifying School and Pakistan Open back to back in January, stumbled to a 75 and summed up the challenging day with temperatures soaring close to 40 degrees Celsius. "Coming in, the weather was so hot that I could feel my head pounding. It was tough. The good thing is that I have had my bad round and I'm still in with a shout."

Leading third round scores

210 - Scott Strange (AUS) 68-70-72

211 - Yeh Chang-ting (TPE) 69-69-73

214 - Cookie Lao (PHI) 70-74-70, Chris Rodgers (ENG) 70-69-75

215 - Hsieh Chin-sheng (TPE) 71-73-71, Lu Wei-lan (TPE) 69-74-72

216 - Angelo Que (PHI) 71-75-70, Adam Porker (AUS) 73-72-71, Unho Park (AUS) 72-71-73, Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 72-70-74

217 - Richard Moir (AUS) 77-69-71, S.S.P. Chowrasia (IND) 74-72-71, Gary Simpson (AUS) 71-72-74, Marcus Both (AUS) 73-70-74, Rick Gibson (CAN) 70-72-75

218 - Gurbaaz Mann (IND) 73-73-72, Uttam Singh Mundy (IND) 75-74-69, Park Jun-won (KOR) 75-74-69, Anthony Kang (USA) 72-72-74, Soe Kyaw Naing (MYN) 72-70-76

219 - Kevin Chun (NZL) 70-77-72, Elmer Salvador (PHI) 78-70-71, Richard Lee (NZL) 73-75-71, Jason Dawes (AUS) 70-75-74, Gerald Rosales (PHI) 73-72-74, Barry Hume (SCO) 69-76-74

220 - Gary Rusnak (USA) 73-74-73, Rashid Ismail (MAS) 72-76-72, Poh Eng Wah (SIN) 73-73-74,

Jochen Lupprian (GER) 72-76-72, Alistair Presnell (AUS) 73-75-72, Jason Knutzon (USA) 73-71-76, Peter Karmis (RSA) 75-75-70, Adam Le Vesconte (AUS) 74-76-70

221 - Simon Nash (AUS) 69-77-75, Marciano Pucay (PHI) 72-75-74, Jay Bayron [A] (PHI) 75-73-73, Adam Blyth (AUS) 71-77-73, Airil Rizman Zahari (MAS) 73-70-78

May 27, 2006

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