Bogor, Indonesia: American John Catlin holed a pivotal birdie putt on the last for a four-under-par 67 to lead by two shots in the penultimate round of the Combiphar Golf Invitational on Friday.
Catlin, who started the round with a one-shot deficit, marked his card with five birdies against a lone bogey to sit atop the leaderboard on 12-under-par 201 total at the Gunung Geulis Country Club situated in Bogor city.
His compatriot Sam Cyr posted a solid 65 to share second place with Filipino stalwart Antonio Lascuna, who returned with a second consecutive 68, at the inaugural US$60,000 ADT event, which is the Tour’s second stop in Indonesia this season.
Overnight leader Mitchell Slorach of Singapore slipped to fourth place on 204 following a 71 while Thailand’s Panuwat Muenlek, who is chasing for a third win this season, settled a further shot back in fifth after carding a 68.
“It was a grind but I stayed patient and kept it going out there. The conditions were pretty similar to yesterday. I made a nice breaking putt on 18 from 15 feet to finish with a birdie. That was my highlight today,” said Catlin.
“I will keep everything the same tomorrow. I just need to stay patient,” added the Bangkok-based 26-year-old, who is searching for a maiden win on the secondary circuit, which was launched in 2010 as a gateway to the region’s premier Tour.
Cyr credited his solid drives for giving him a fighting chance to challenge for a maiden win. “I played a really solid round. I hit a lot of good shots and I feel like my game is getting sharper each round. I am very happy about that.”
“I was able to hit it close a few times today. I like the way I am striking the ball. I left myself in good places to be aggressive on my putts as well. I made seven-footers on sixth and 16 and sank a 13-footer on 10,” said the 30-year-old Cyr.
All ADT events offer Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points. The winner will receive six OWGR points while the top six players and ties will also earn points based on a sliding scale.
The top-five finishers on the final Order of Merit will secure their Asian Tour cards for 2017.
For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.
Leading third round results:
201 - John CATLIN (USA) 70 64 67
203 - Sam CYR (USA) 70 68 65, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 67 68 68
204 - Mitchell SLORACH (SGP) 70 63 71
205 - Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 68 69 68
206 - Micah Lauren SHIN (USA) 69 67 70
207 - John Michael O'TOOLE (USA) 72 70 65, Suradit YONGCHAROENCHAI (THA) 71 70 66, Tawan PHONGPHUN (THA) 71 69 67
208 - Gavin GREEN (MAS) 73 69 66
209 - Sorachut HANSAPIBAN (THA) 71 67 71, Genki OKADA (JPN) 68 70 71
210 - Brett MUNSON (USA) 72 69 69, Itthipat BURANATANYARAT (THA) 71 70 69, Toni FERRER (ESP) 69 71 70, Atthaphon SRIBOONKAEW (THA) 69 75 66, Arie Irawan (MAS) 70 70 70, Victor OSTERBY (DEN) 68 72 70
