SILANG, Cavite. – Fidel Concepcion fought Guido Van der Valk shot-for-shot and putt-for-putt and traded miscues-for-miscues in a highly-charged battle for control in another blustery day at Langer then regained the lead as the Dutch fumbled with two closing bogeys in the third round of the ICTSI Riviera Championship Thursday.
Concepcion failed to shake off a steady Van der Valk majority of the way and even trailed by as many as three shots before finding his touch and rhythm in the stretch, birdying Nos. 13 and 15 for a 71 then parlaying Van der Valk’s bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18 and a 73 into a one-stroke lead at 214.
It was an unlikely foldup for Van der Valk, who rose from every stumble in a day of changing fortunes that saw him churn out a four-birdie card to negate the same number of miscues after 15 holes. But his late meltdown enabled the first-round leader to zero in on his first Philippine Golf Tour championship.
Van der Valk slipped to second at 215 but still within sight of a second PGT win this year after rallying from behind and nipping Miguel Tabuena in sudden death to snare the Splendido Taal crown last May.
“It’s pretty simple golf. It’s easy to make bogeys here at Langer, so it’s important to stay to my strengths,” said Concepcion, who moved 18 holes away from joining the elite circle of winners in the Pilipinas Golf Tourmaments. Inc.-organized circuit.
