Three-man race for Forest Hills title up
It has boiled down to a three-man race for the ICTSI Forest Hills Classic title after another trying day weeded out the pretenders and left Reymon Jaraula, Guido van der Valk and young Aidric Chan with the best shots of hoisting the trophy on Friday.
Jaraula gunned down to late birdies to shoot a three-under-par 68 and cling into a tie for the lead with the Dutchman Van der Valk, who shook off a shaky start to shoot a 67 as both take a 202 aggregates into the final round they feel will be packed with immense pressure.
“The pressure to win is there, but playing well is the most important,” Van der Valk said after shooting all six of his birdies in his final 13 holes. “We’ll see how it all plays out at the end.”
Jaraula, meanwhile, picked up shots on the 16th and 17th in a display of steely nerves as the duo will start the final day three-up on Chan, who turned in the week’s best score, a 64 littered with nine birdies.
Meanwhile, Chanelle Avaricio won the accompanying P1 million ladies event after closing out with a 71 for a six-shot victory over Mafy Singson, who fired a 74.
Chan is shooting to win his first pro tournament on local soil, which will be a follow-up to a triumph he posted in the Vietnam stop of the Asian Development Tour earlier this year.
And with that third-round splurge of birdies and with 18 birdies in all in the first 54 holes, the 24-year-old certainly has a great idea on how to play the Nicklaus course in the Antipolo complex.
“My driving was a bit shaky compared to the first two days, but I made up for it with my irons and putting,” said Jaraula with a mix of Filipino as he guns for his first win since Bacolod last October. “There’s pressure, but you have to handle it.”
Defending champion Keanu Jahns also fought hard, but a double bogey at the 12th and two straight bogeys from the 14th left him signing for a level 71 to be five shots off, just two better than rookie Jeff Lumbo, who also fired a 71.
First round leader Justin Quiban is in Lumbo’s company together with the seasoned Angelo Que. Quiban, after shooting a 74 in the second round to drop out of the lead, rebounded with a 70, while Que fired a 67.
