Another 65 gives Pagunsan top spot in MB Masters Thailand

Filipino Juvic Pagunsan's vaunted short game went in full swing that resulted to a second straight five-under-par 65 as he moved to a mere one round away from getting his first win on the Mercedes-Benz Tour. Pagunsan, who won the ICTSI-Riviera Classic two weeks ago, collected a 54-haul of 196 to grab the lead in the $60,000 MB Masters Thailand at the Laguna Phuket Golf Club. He was four shots ahead of Thais Pattaraphol Khanthacha (70) and Udorn Duangdecha (66). A further two strokes back at 202 was 13-year-old Thai teen sensation Pinsawat Pariwat (67) of Phuket along with compatriot Wisut Artjanawat (69) and Singaporean Lam Chih Bing (69). “I hit it really good (in the third round) just like the last two days. Before I came to Phuket, I was working on swing changes with my coach Jun Cedo. We’ve made small changes on my backswing," Pagunsan said. Pattaraphol has been struggling with flu all week and it finally slowed him down. “I did not play very good. The flu was worse and I hate playing the rain as I cannot read the lines," said the 20-year-old Thai star. Udorn is well placed to win his second Mercedes-Benz Tour title this year as he claimed the Singha Pattaya Open after a play-off with Filipino Jay Bayron. Bayron was the next best RP bet at 70-208. Artemio Murakami had a 71 for 212 while Gene Bondoc made a 71 for 213. – JVP/Adrian Flores, GMANews.TV