Thailand's Wisut Artjanawat shot a third-round three-under 69 to take sole lead in the Mercedes-Benz Masters Philippines in Manila yesterday.
Wisut started the day tied for top spot with Mars Pucay, but ended it one stroke ahead of the Filipino with a tournament total of 13-under 203 at the Tagaytay Midlands Golf Club.
Wisut nailed five birdies and recorded a double-bogey on the ninth.
Pucay, who last year won twice on what used to be called the ASEAN Tour, carded a bogey on the fourth, but rallied with birdies on holes six, 12 and 16.
Another up and coming Thai golfer, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, and veteran Anthony Lascuna from the Philippines are in joint third place.
■ SOFITEL CHAMPIONSHIP
AFP, NANJING, CHINA
Zhang Lianwei shot a five-under 67 yesterday to lie three strokes behind Liao Guiming and one ahead of teenager James Su Dong going into the final round of the Sofitel Golf Championship.
On what is the fifth stop on this year’s Omega China Tour, Liao, who shared the halfway lead with Su, posted a 69 to go 12-under at Nanjing Zhongshan International Golf Club.
Su, 18, was his usual relaxed self after a 73 which left the Vancouver-based amateur on eight-under and five clear of Taiwan’s Tsai Chi-huang, who shot a 74.
Liao’s third successive round in the 60s put him in a position to win his first China Tour title after 10 top-10 finishes in 20 events.
Joint runner-up in last week’s Shanghai Championship, Liao will have to hold off the challenge of playing partners Zhang, part of China’s first generation of professionals, and Su, one of the emerging third generation.
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