CAVINTI, Laguna – A brilliant Moving Day surge put Keanu Jahns in the driver’s seat, but a recurring nightmare on the final hole left the door wide open for a star-studded chasing pack.

Poised to sign for a flawless, spectacular round, the Fil-German ace stumbled with a bogey on the 18th, settling for a six-under 66 Thursday. Still, it was enough to propel him into solo leadership at 15-under 201 and move him within arm’s reach of defending his ICTSI Caliraya Springs Golf Championship crown.

But despite grabbing the lead, Jahns’ late slip set the stage for a dramatic, high-stakes shootout for the ₱450,000 top prize in the ₱2.5 million championship at Caliraya Springs Golf Club. With the “lift, clean, and place” rule making the course highly scoreable, no advantage feels safe – and the veterans trailing him are firmly within striking distance.

Just one stroke behind at 202 are multi-titled veterans Zanieboy Gialon and Tony Lascuña.

Gialon spiked a 66 with an ace on No. 14, displaying the steady yet aggressive precision needed to break down Caliraya’s defenses. If he sustains his momentum, he has the firepower to overtake Jahns and reclaim the crown he first won in the event’s inaugural staging in 2022.

Lascuña, the two-day leader, bucked another shaky start (37) with a gritty backside 33 to card a 70 and stay firmly in contention. Known as one of the tour’s most cold-blooded finishers, Lascuña’s experience in high-pressure situations makes him a major threat heading into the final round.

Still, attention remains on Jahns, who delivered a scorching start for the third consecutive day before a sluggish back nine allowed the chasing pack to close in heading into the finale.

Despite finding greens in regulation, Jahns’ momentum stalled on the back nine as he struggled with pace on the greens and missed three to four realistic birdie opportunities.

“I started really hot for the third straight day,” said Jahns, who battled back from three down and surged to a three-stroke lead after an eagle-spiked front-nine 30. “I was hitting a lot of greens at the back, but I just couldn’t dial in the speed. The greens felt slow and I missed several birdie putts.”

His troubles carried into the final hole. Holding a two-shot cushion over Lascuña on the 18th tee, Jahns pushed his drive into trouble and was forced to scramble for par from a difficult lie.

“I nearly salvaged a par, but those things happen,” said Jahns of his late stumble.

Despite the shaky finish, Jahns remained confident about defending his crown. His focus heading into the finale is maintaining composure and tightening execution.

“I’m just staying in the present. I like the way I’m playing, and I’m managing the course very well,” he added. “I’m always looking for ways to be more consistent and minimize mistakes so I can post a better score. To be honest, I still don’t feel entirely comfortable with my swing. But if I can manage the course well tomorrow, I should walk away with a good result.”

Meanwhile, Lascuña endured a roller-coaster round of his own. After watching his overnight three-shot lead evaporate and briefly falling three strokes behind Jahns, he blamed a cold putter for his early struggles.

“I struggled with my putting at the front, enabling Keanu to pull ahead,” said Lascuña. “I left a lot of birdie putts out there that just refused to drop.”

However, the seasoned pro showed his trademark resilience when it mattered most. He roared back down the stretch, draining three birdies over his final seven holes to close the gap and remain firmly in contention to end a two-year title drought.

Trailing by three despite a solid frontside 32, Gialon recovered from a mishap on No. 13 with a spectacular ace at the 169-yard 14th. Using a 7-iron and a Titleist Pro V1 ball, he recorded the fourth hole-in-one of his career.

The ace, worth ₱20,000 from the Philippine Golf Tour, combined with back-to-back birdies from Lascuña on Nos. 12 and 13, allowed both players to move within a stroke of Jahns.

“I was also surprised by my hole-in-one. I just punched the ball to keep its movement controlled, and fortunately, it went right in,” said Gialon in Filipino, who is aiming to snap a two-year title drought. He won the inaugural staging of this tournament in 2022 and ended another dry spell with a victory in Iloilo in 2024 before falling into another slump.

Just a stroke behind Jahns and tied with Lascuña – both seasoned contenders in pressure-packed battles – Gialon remains confident in his chances.

“There’s no pressure. I’ll just play my game and stick to the same routine,” said Gialon, who also hopes to rely on his strong short game.

“My short game really clicked – from 120 yards out and closer, I was able to stick it near the pin,” he added, referring to his birdies on Nos. 2, 4, 5, 7, and 18, which kept him in position to sustain his pattern of winning a title every two years.

Meanwhile, sitting just three shots back at 204 are heavyweight champions Angelo Que and Guido van der Valk, who both carded 68s. Que fired five birdies against a bogey, while van der Valk produced a bogey-free 34-34 card.

Que, the reigning Order of Merit winner, brings elite firepower and international experience – and if his wedge play and putting heat up early, he can quickly erase the deficit.

Van der Valk, a master of course management, thrives in tight conditions. His methodical approach makes him well-positioned to capitalize on any mistakes from the final group.

Adding further chaos to one of the most crowded leaderboards in Philippine Golf Tour memory is Fidel Concepcion, who fired a tournament-best 63 to tie rookie Aidric Chan (67) and Sean Ramos (69) at sixth place at 206.

With five proven champions separated by just three strokes, and several others still within striking distance, the final 18 holes promise a tense and thrilling finish.

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