ANTIPOLO. – Unshaken at the top, Clyde Mondilla can perhaps start preparing for the long Philippine Golf Tour break or drawing up his next jaunt on the Asian Development Tour.
The Del Monte ace stretched his lead to six in the ICTSI Forest Hills Classic Thursday despite posting his “highest” score in three days, a 68, and making his first bogey after 50 holes for an 19-under 194 total spiked by an 11-under 60 start and a second round 66 at the par-71 Nicklaus course.
Angelo Que tried to mount an early charge with four frontside birdies and kept rolling at the back to finish with an eagle-aided 33. But his 64 could only thrust him from fourth to second at 200 although he chopped four precious shots off Mondilla’s previous 10-stroke lead over him after 36 holes.
Unfancied Albin Engino bravely held his ground while slugging it out with two of the Tour’s multi-titled campaigners in the featured flight but lost his poise at the finish, dropping two strokes on No. 18 and slipping to third at 202 after a 71.
It was Tony Lascuña who faltered in the featured group as the Caliraya Springs leg winner and four-time Order of Merit champion triple-bogeyed the last hole and limped home with a 75 as he fell with a thud, tumbling from third to sixth at 207.
Aside from Que, there were a couple of players who sizzled in the heat in moving day but Guido van der Valk’s 65 and Dino Villanueva’s 66 could only move them to joint fourth at 205, too far behind to pose a threat with 18 holes left in the P2 million event sponsored by ICTSI.
Mondilla proved just as determined as the rest, shooting three birdies on a par-4 (No. 3), par-5 (No. 6) and par-3 (No. 13) to stay way ahead of the chasing pack then zeroing in on the top P360,000 prize with a pitch-in birdie from the fringe on the last hole that negated his lone miscue in three days of exceptional play at the up-and-down layout.
