Luis Castro stumbled with a first over-par card but still stretched his lead to nine with a 73 while Harmie Constantino broke par for the first time and went three-up over Junia Gabasa with a 71 in the third round of the Philippine Junior Amateur Golf Championship at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Trece Martires, Cavite yesterday.

Castro, who posted a commanding eight-stroke lead after 36 holes with a pair of 71s, bucked an early pair of double bogeys with birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 then birdied the par-5 15th for the third straight day to save a 38-35 card and all but wrap up the boys’ championship with a 215 aggregate.

That was nine strokes ahead of Sean Ramos, who failed to cash in on Castro’s shaky start and finished with a higher card of 74 for a 224 while Carl Corpus also wound up with a 74 and fell 11 strokes behind at 226 heading to the final 18 holes of the annual event sponsored by MVP Sports Foundation and held as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour.

Paolo Wong hobbled with a closing 41 and skied to a 78 for a 232 while Riggs Illescas wobbled with a backside 44 for an 82 and a 241 followed by Paolo Barro (84-244), Miguel Ilas (79-245), Perry Bucay (83-245), Pierre Ticzon (79-248) and David Guangko (82-249).

One-up on Junia Gabasa halfway through the 72-hole championship, organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines, for 17-and-under players, Constantino gunned down five birdies to negate a double-bogey mishap on No. 15 and two bogeys for that 71 and a 219.

Gabasa failed to match Constantino’s 36 start with a two-over card and settled for a 73 but remained in the title hunt with a 222.

Four behind Constantino at the start of the day, Nicole Abelar moved within two with a solid two-under 34 start. But she lost steam and momentum at the back, bogeying Nos. 12 and 14 and finishing with a 38 and a 72. She fell five strokes off the pace with a 224.

Sofia Legaspi turned in a 79 for a 235 while Laurea Duque rallied with a 75 for a 236 followed by Kristine Fleetwood (78-239), Koreans Jang Yun Ji (83-259), Rho Hyun Ji (83-261) and Kim Seo Young (87-264) and Monica Mandario (87-268).

Aniceto Mandanas shot a second 80 to likewise secure the Special Division (18-and-above) crown with a 238 with Aldo Barro way behind at 262 after an 85 and Korean Sung Yeon Soo limping with a 93 for a 282.

Korean Jung Jae Hyun also virtually clinched the 13-U-and-below plum with a 154 after a 77 as compatriot Jeong Yeaheun fell too far behind at 178 after an 87 and Mikhaella Constantino assembling a 180 after an 88.