CAVINTI, Laguna. — In an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with the hottest player on the Philippine Golf Tour, Keanu Jahns didn’t blink – and kept his sights on the coveted crown – emerging on top of a fiercely contested day to seize the lead in the ICTSI Caliraya Springs Championship here Thursday.
The big-hitting Jahns went toe-to-toe with Angelo Que in a duel worthy of the spotlight in the second-to-last flight with Rupert Zaragosa, coming out virtually unscathed in a birdie-laden third round. He fired a sizzling 65 – highlighted by an eagle and a solid frontside 31 – to rise from joint third and into solo leadership at 14-under 202 at Caliraya’s Arnold Palmer-designed course.
Que, unrelenting as ever, launched a fiery frontside assault of his own, nearly matching Jahns’ electric pace with a four-birdie burst across his first nine holes. But he slowed slightly on the back with a two-birdie, one-bogey effort, settling for a 67 to stay within striking distance at 203.
In a flight ahead, Fidel Concepcion mounted a charge of his own, matching Que’s 32-35 card to move to solo third at 204, setting the stage for what is shaping up to be a classic final-round shootout – one teeming with power, poise and pressure.
And it’s not just Jahns vs. Que anymore.
While the spotlight may be trained on the veteran Que and the surging Jahns, the final 18 holes promise a six-way thriller, with Concepcion, Aidric Chan (67), Zaragosa (69), and American Collin Wheeler (65) poised to spoil the party. Chan, Zaragosa and Wheeler are tied at 206, just four strokes behind the leader, and are well within reach on a layout yielding birdies in bunches.
Wheeler, in particular, looms as a dangerous wildcard. His bogey-free card, punctuated by pinpoint approaches and a hot putter, makes him one of the most dangerous players heading into the finale. Zaragosa and Chan, meanwhile, have the shotmaking skills and tournament grit to mount a final-day rally.
“This course is gettable,” said Jahns, who’s gunning for his first win since Forest Hills last year. “It’s going to be another low round tomorrow, so you have to watch out for the other guys who are two or three flights ahead of you.”
Que echoed the sentiment, refusing to frame the final round as a two-man shootout.
“Not really a shootout,” said Que. “I feel like I’m just playing with a friend. He’s learning from me and I’m learning from him. So it’s going to be fun.”
But the stakes are no less intense. With ₱440,000 and prestige on the line in this fourth stop of the 10-stage circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., the final 18 holes will be a mental and physical battle – and it will take more than just a hot start to win it.
Concepcion, for his part, has quietly pieced together the most consistent performance of all. Through 54 holes, he has gunned down 14 birdies against just four bogeys, showing remarkable control and maturity – and a hunger for a career breakthrough.
Some of the earlier frontrunners faltered under the pressure on moving day. Carl Corpus, Jhonnel Ababa and Korean Ji Sung Cheon, who all had promising starts in the final group, failed to sustain momentum.
Corpus, who sizzled with rounds of 66-69 to lead after 36 holes, stumbled with a double bogey and a bogey on the back nine against three birdies and another bogey, ending up with a 73 to drop to joint eighth at 208, with Cheon, who made a brief surge with an eagle and early birdie, and also faded to a 72.
Ababa, just a stroke behind Corpus and tied with Que and Cheon after 36 holes, surged ahead early with a three-birdie blitz starting at No. 3, reaching 11-under. But as quickly as he climbed to the top, his momentum vanished just as fast.
A double bogey on the picturesque par-3 sixth – where his tee shot found water – was followed by a bogey on No. 7 and a costly 6 on the par-4 ninth after driving out of bounds.
He rallied with three birdies coming home, but his 69 wasn’t enough to hold his place, dropping him to seventh at 207 amid the fiery charge of Jahns, Que, Concepcion and three other contenders.
Still, the focus is now on the dynamic final pairing and the determined chasers.
Jahns, whose putting has been red-hot all week, knows what it will take.
“Steady lang,” he said. “Make a few birdies and I should be okay.”
