Angelo

Que

With the morning session complete, that puts him T3 in the clubhouse, a shot behind joint-leaders Marcus Fraser and Nacho Elvira. There was nothing too amazing about a birdie on the opening par five followed by a par at No. 2 but the man from the Philippines then splashed red at 3, 4 and 5, added another par at 6 before making five straight circles from Nos. 7-11. Needing more four birdies in his last seven holes to break 60, Que wobbled badly with back-to-back doubles at 15 and 16 before a walk-off par breaker at 18. “I thought I was dreaming when I got to nine under after 11 holes,” he said. “But these things happen, especially when you play well. You try not to think too much and get ahead of yourself by ignoring it and keep playing. But it sort of plays on your mind too. Six under is always a good score. I started off with a birdie and ended with a birdie. So that’s nice.”

For a while the Philippine veteran struggled with the Hong Kong GC layout, going 3-for-9. But when he did make the last two rounds he flagged that there was something he liked about the track, posting T13 in 2006 and T11 in 2008. In the last three years he has underlined, rubber-stamped and highlighted that by finishing T5, T2 and T13. In fact, two years ago he posted 65-69-67-66 to tie Scott Hend, forcing extra holes with a pinpoint approach to the final hole that he later described as “the shot of my life”. Unfortunately, when the pair replayed that hole, Que missed the green and failed to scramble his par so lost out. He and Miguel Tabuena failed to sync in the World Cup, finishing last of the 28 teams, but prior to that he was T11 in the prestigious Dunlop Phoenix Tournament on the Japan Tour.

The experienced Filipino, who splits his time between the Asian and Japan Tours, started steadily with four opening pars but then poured in seven birdies in the next 11 holes to briefly take the lead on his own. A sole bogey of the day ended the run and he eventually came to rest just one behind leader Nathan Holman. Que finished T8 when taking on PGA TOUR opposition at the 2014 CIMB Classic in Malaysia so we shouldn’t expect him to go away over the next 54 holes.

Que missed the cut when the Indian Open was co-sanctioned with the European Tour for the first time last year but he’d cashed at the short par 72 in his previous five visits. His best result was a fourth place in 2013 while he also made the top 25 in 2011. Que has shown plenty of consistency in recent times but hasn’t found a spark. That’s highlighted by his four finishes in 2016 reading T38-T37-T40-T40.

That fast finish vaulted the Filipino 16 spots up the leaderboard as he came to rest at 12-under 276, just three behind eventual winner S.S.P. Chawrasia. Que circled birdies at 2 and 6 on the front nine and then painted red at 11, 13, 14, 16 and 17 on the back. Despite shooting the low round of the day, he’ll feel he left shots out there having failed to birdie just one of Delhi Golf Club’s four par 5s. Que piped 10 (of 14) fairways, hit 15 greens in regulation and was 3-for-3 in scrambling in Sunday’s closer.

Que has put together two top 10s in his last three events, and four in his last eight. His ability to go low is certainly there, although it’s usually versus much inferior competition. Que finished T10 at KLGCC at the 2010 Maybank Malaysian Open, so the venue will be a familiar one. Has an outside shot to post a top 10, but should be considered a longshot.

The Filipino circled six of his seven birdies on the front side of Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club today. He incurred two bogeys and played the par 5s in 1-under, but landed only two strokes off the overnight lead. Que lost in a playoff at the Hong Kong Open two weeks ago and he sits sixth on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit. The 35-year-old has three victories on his home circuit. It’s been four years since his last, but it came in Malaysia at Seri Selangor Golf Club in Petaling Jaya, which is near Kuala Lumpur.

He’s five shots back of 36-hole clubhouse leader Billy Hurley III. Que started on the back side of Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club today and made the turn with three bogeys and six pars. However, he’d manage to pick off five birdies against two bogeys coming in to save the day and remain in contention entering the weekend.

Today, Que exchanged four birdies with a pair of bogey-5s. This is just his third start on the PGA TOUR and his first payday. The top 10 will yield a healthy allotment of non-member FedExCup points that will contribute toward the goals of qualifying for Special Temporary Membership (322.760) and the Web.com Tour Finals (target TBD). In the short-term, he’ll have the option of accepting an exemption into next week’s Sanderson Farms Championship via today’s top 10.

After trading five birdies with five bogeys on Friday, Que swallowed only two bogeys against five more birdies today. His first four came consecutively beginning at the par-4 second hole. His long-range try for eagle at the par-5 18th stopped on the lip to set up the easiest walk-off birdie putt in the game.