AIDRIC Chan kept a steady grind in the $2 million Singapore Open Saturday, firing a one-under-par 71 even as surprise leader Jeongwoo Ham continued to pull away from the field after three rounds at Sentosa Golf Club.
Chan was tied for 12th spot with four others with a three-round total 209, 4-under-par for the tournament and nine shots behind Ham.
A birdie on the last hole enabled the 24-year-old Chan to post his second sub-par round, after a 66 in the first round, and stay in the thick of the fight, although he may need a big fourth round Sunday to overcome Ham.
The South Korean shot his second straight 68 after a first round 64 for a total of 200, 13 under for the tournament that gave him a four-stroke lead over Australian John Cameron who was at nine under after shooting a 67.
Justin Quiban, the other survivor of the cut among five Filipino campaigners, shot a two-over-par 74 and was tied for 68th place at three-over.
Earlier, Carl Jano Campos, Angelo Que, and Sean Ramos failed to make the cut.
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Yuka Saso finds missing game, shoots 5-under 67, easily makes cut
For those who were wondering whether Yuka Saso will ever put up a decent round after many months of mediocre golf, well, your question has been answered.
On a day that was more a surprise than normal, Saso, once the country’s most outstanding golfer, man or woman, shot a five-under-par 67 in the second round of the Chevron Championship, her best score in nearly two years.
With that, the 24-year-old Yuka comfortably made the cut, pegged at 3-over, for her first trip on the weekend in her last five starts in a full-field LPGA event.
Even better, it marked the first time that Saso, who has been more prone to shoot herself on the foot with her unexplained meltdowns, showed the kind of player that she is.
She had seven birdies, which usually is her normal number of bogeys, and shot three of them consecutively from the 13th. But then, Yuka being Yuka of late, she shot two straight bogeys. She proved to be a changed golfer because after that, she shot another birdie for her 67.
With first round two-over-par 74, Yuka posted a 36-hole total of 141, 3-under for the tournament. It’s a great score by her standards, but she is nine strokes behind surging leader Nelly Korda who shot her second straight seven-under 65 to lead by six strokes.
Whatever happens, one is relieved that Yuka will now play a third round after missing the feel of real competition over the past several months.
This is the LPGA’s first major of the year and Yuka’s two career wins had been majors – the 2021 and 2024 US Opens.
While she seems to have found her groove, it is unlikely Yuka will win this event. She is tied for 16th place, 11 strokes behind a surging Nelly Korda who shot her second straight seven-under 65 to lead by six strokes at Memorial Park golf course in Houston, Texas.
Korda is 14 under for the tournament while at 8-under is Thailand’s Patty Tavathanakit in second place.
Another shot behind were Ina Yoon (68), Ryan O’Toole (68) and Texas junior Farah O’Keefe (69), one of five amateurs to make the cut.
Among those missing the cut was world No.1 Jeeno Thitikul who made a bogey on the 18th for a 73 and missed the cut by one shot.
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PGA Tour: Hoey, partner advance to Zurich Classic weekend
Rico Hoey and his partner David Lipsky advanced to the final two rounds of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans after firing a one-under-par 71 in the alternate-shot play Friday.
A birdie on the final hole saved the day for the partnership in the PGA Tour’s only team format competition as the duo finished 10-under overall, which was the cutline.
Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer shot a two-under-par 70 in the second round to take a one-stroke lead over the brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick who scored the day’s best of seven-under-par 65.
Smalley and Springer tied the tournament record with a 58 in Four-ball play in the opening round and their 70 got them to16-under 128.
Matt Fitzpatrick ranked third in the world after winning the RBC Heritage last weekend, had a chip-in birdie on the par-5 18th to cap the round.
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