November 12, 2016: Thailand’s Sutijet Kooratanapisan moved closer towards his breakthrough on the Asian Tour after carding a three-under-par 69 at the US$1 million Resorts World Manila Masters on Saturday. Teen sensation Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand showed his mettle once again by making his move with a 69 to take second place while India’s S.S.P. Chwarasia, who is determined to clinch his first Asian Tour title abroad, signed for a 71 to share third place which also featured last year’s runner-up, Jbe Kruger of South Africa. Jyoti Randhawa was stalled by the windy conditions signing on a 74 to drop into a tie with Chawrasia in T3.
Sutijet overcame a two-shot deficit at the start of the day to take his place atop the leaderboard with his three-day total of 16-under-par 200 at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club.
Chawrasia withstood the challenging windy conditions by mixing his card with three bogeys and four birdies to put himself in the mix for his first win abroad.
“I didn’t hit and putt the ball as well as compared to the last two days. The winds picked up in the afternoon which made play really challenging. There’s still another day left at this event and I’m looking forward to finishing off the week well,” said the Indian.
With all his four Asian Tour victories coming from home soil, the 38-year-old is eager to clinch his first title overseas, having put himself into a good position where he is just three shots back of Sutijet.
“I want to win outside India and that’s my next goal. That’s my focus and I’ll try my best,” said the Indian.
Sutijet plans to adopt an all-out attack in his quest for his first Asian Tour title, having come so close to a win in Bangladesh at the start of the year.
Phachara, who has four top-five finishes, including three in his last four starts, continued to belie his age with another remarkable performance.
The 17-year-old showed no signs of nerves as he matched up against the region’s best players with another commanding performance.
A double bogey at the second seemed to rattle Jyoti, early in his round. And he had to dig into his reservoir of experience to play out through a difficult day, He made bogeys at nine and twelve too, but recovered strokes at the 15th and 18th to end the day at two over 74, 13-under through 54 holes.
Gaganjeet Bhullar made four birdies in a row from the 14th in a solid 69, that helped him into a tie for 7th going into the final round. Chikkarangappa also made four birdies in his round of 70, lying in 12th position.
Shiv Kapur, 68 and Chiragh Kumar, 69 are tied in 17 after a strong showing in the third round. Shubhankar Sharma also posted a 69 to move into a tie for 35th. Jeev Milkha Singh dropped to T62 with a 74 on Saturday.
Khalin Joshi (72-70) missed the cut despite a measured performance, due to the low scores that littered the board in Manila. Rashid Khan withdrew from the event due to an injury.
Leading Scores after round 3 of the Resorts World Manila Masters being played at the par 72, 7317 Yards Manila Southwoods GcC course:
200 – Sutijet KOORATANAPISAN (THA) 65-66-69.
202 – Phachara KHONGWATMAI (THA) 67-66-69.
203 – Terry PILKADARIS (AUS) 66-70-67, Jbe KRUGER (RSA) 69-67-67, S.S.P CHAWRASIA (IND) 68-64-71, Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 64-65-74.
