Starting the day four strokes off the pace at sixth spot, van der Valk vaulted to the top at one-over 217 after first day co-leader LJ Go faltered with two bogeys in the final seven holes, settling for a 74 and a 219. STA. ROSA, Laguna – Guido van der Valk shouldered himself past a competitive field with a composed and calculated performance, firing the day’s best two-under-par 70, highlighted by an eagle and a monster birdie putt, as he wrested a two-stroke lead in the third round of The Country Club Invitational on Thursday, Jan.
30, here. Starting the day four strokes off the pace at sixth spot, van der Valk vaulted to the top at one-over 217 after first day co-leader LJ Go faltered with two bogeys in the final seven holes, settling for a 74 and a 219. Halfway leader Clyde Mondilla also aimed for a charge, starting strong with a birdie on the par-5 second hole.
However, back-to-back setbacks – a triple bogey and a bogey from No. 4 – halted his momentum. He managed to recover and briefly tied van der Valk with a birdie on the 10th, only to slip again with a costly double bogey on the 16th.
A final-hole miscue left him with a 77, dropping him to third place at 220, now three shots behind the leader. This enabled van der Valk, who turned 45 last Sunday, to seize the lead against the very players he had previously defeated to claim his first two TCC Invitational titles. He dominated Go by five strokes in the 2023 edition of what has become the Philippine Golf Tour’s .
