Sports

It’s becoming a forgettable Games for Juvic; Xander, Hideki running 1-2

The United States’ Xander Schauffele lines up his putt on the seventh green. —REUTERS

KAWAGOE, JAPAN—Juvic Pagunsan returned the day’s worst score—a five-over-par 76—in a forgettable performance that dashed whatever hopes the Philippine bet still had of salvaging a podium finish in men’s golf of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics here.

The rigors of a Kasumigaseki Country Club east course that observers said made it a deserving Olympic venue hit hard on the 43-year-old Pagunsan, who went birdie-less in the third round while signing for five bogeys that translated into the event’s second worst score.

Pagunsan found himself tied for 55th spot with a 54-hole aggregate of 215 that only three players among the 60 in the field did not beat.

American Xander Schauffele, meanwhile, fought off the challenge of the host nation’s star and a horde of other big names to maintain a one-shot lead heading into the final round.

Schauffele went into a blink-or-die shootout with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Carlos Ortiz of Mexico all round long and emerged alone at the top after a birdie on the 18th for a 68 and a 199 through 54 holes.

Raising his hopes of winning the gold medal that matters for his country, Matsuyama buried a clutch putt for par on the last hole for a 67, while Ortiz (69) and England’s Paul Casey (66) were two shots behind.

It will be an explosive battle for the three medals on Sunday at Kasumigaseki with nine players within four strokes of Schauffele, including a bunch of European hotshots.

Rory McIlroy, the former world No. 1 from Ireland, kept his hopes alive with a 67 to stay just three strokes off the lead, tied with Sebastian Muñoz, Mito Pereira and Sepp Straka of Austria.

Tommy Fleetwood, who played with Pagunsan in the third round, put himself in the mix by torching the course with nine birdies, including four in a row from the 11th, in a superb 64 to be at 203. He and Ireland’s Shane Lowry, who shot a 68, were four back.

The vaunted American team failed to get everyone in the mix as British Open champion Collin Morikawa managed only a 67 and will be needing a lot more than a spectacular round to join the medal picture as he fell seven shots adrift. Patrick Reed was tied for 38th at 209 after a 70.

Read Next

Don’t miss out on the latest news and information.

Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.

For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.

You May Also Like

World

France, which has opened its borders to Canadian tourists, is eager to see Canada reopen to the French. The Canadian border remains closed...

Health

Kashechewan First Nation in northern Ontario is experiencing a “deepening state of emergency” as a result of surging COVID-19 cases in the community...

World

The virus that causes COVID-19 could have started spreading in China as early as October 2019, two months before the first case was identified in the central city of Wuhan, a new study...

World

April Ross and Alix Klineman won the first Olympic gold medal for the United States in women’s beach volleyball since 2012 on Friday,...

© 2021 Newslebrity.com - All Rights Reserved.