Quintanilla opens up six-shot lead
Bouncing back from a roller coaster second round, Grace Pauline Quintanilla turned the back nine of the Bukit course upside down, as four birdies rescued a one-under-par 70 that gave the Filipino wonder a six-shot lead heading into the final 18 holes of women’s play in the prestigious Singapore Amateur Open.
The 19-year-old from Cebu had lost the lead to Singapore’s Amelie Ng after dropping three shots in a five-hole stretch from the third. only to recover mightily coming home for a 54-hole 208 aggregate, even as Rolando Bregente and Jet Hernandez stood three shots off the men’s lead held by Jonty Lunzon of Australia.
Ng, slowed down by a second round 74, jumped four places to second spot, now tied with Hong Kong-China’s Xizihan Wang after they both shot 69s for 214 aggregates as the race for the crown basically boils down to a three-woman race.
Bregente, meanwhile, managed to crack par for the third straight day, shooting a 69, but now has company at No. 4 in countryman Jet Hernandez, who played his final six holes at three-under on the way to a 68. They enter the final 18 holes carrying 203 aggregates, three shots behind the prolific Australian.
Lunzon fired a 66 to lead Hong Kong-China’s Markus Lam by a shot.
