DANAO CITY – Guido Van der Valk struggled with a two-over 73 that enabled a curious mix of rivals to pull within striking distance after three rounds of the ICTSI Club Filipino de Cebu Invitational at the CFdC layout here yesterday.
Up by six with an impressive opening 66 and a record 65 in the second round, Van der Valk kept his rivals at a safe distance with two birdies in the first eight holes in searing heat.
But just when he thought he had mastered the par-71 up-and-down layout and his pursuers held in check, Van der Valk stumbled with a bogey on the ninth, dropped another stroke on No. 12 and double bogeyed the tricky par-4 14th.
He flubbed a birdie putt on No. 16 and ended up with a 73 and a nine-under 204 total, allowing a horde of others to get a crack at the top R550,000 purse in the R3 million event serving as the third leg of the milestone 10th season of the Philippine Golf Tour sponsored by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
