Six years is more than a reasonable time for someone to put down roots in a city or a house. Carlos Pigem spent half a dozen years on the Asian Tour, from 2013 to 2018, when he lost his card. The Ilerdense made a name for himself on the circuit and there he enjoyed his longest stage on a tour, so we can consider it his home. He then had the opportunity to play for three seasons on the DP World Tour and two more on the Challenge Tour. The Spaniard is now just two small steps away from returning to home, as he has risen to second place in the Asian Tour School Final after the first three rounds. Tomorrow, after the fourth, the cut will be made with the top 70 and on Saturday the first 35 will secure the card to compete on the tour throughout the year. The golfer from the Armada has three quarters of the card in his pocket.
Pigem (-10) displayed a golf of many carats in this third round, which he played on the Springfield course (tomorrow he will compete on the Lakeview; both are in the Thai city of Hua Hin). The Spaniard started with a lot of strength, eager to climb positions in the table from the start and put distance between him and the rest. Three birdies, bam, bam, bam, he pocketed on the 1, 2 and 3 in a perfect start to the round, only marred by a solitary bogey on the 7. He enjoyed a joy on the 12 and left with a smile on his face after sinking a six-meter putt for eagle on the 18. A boost and second place with ten less with 36 holes to go.
“I really enjoyed my six years here in Asia,” the Ilerdense said after the round. “Today I started very well with three great shots at the beginning. Then I made a couple of bad shots and made a bogey on the 7, but then I kept focusing on myself and had a gift on the 18 when I made a good shot and made a great putt for eagle,” he pointed out.
Pigem is just one stroke from the head of the tournament, where the South Korean Junggon Hwang (-11) leads, who scored nine birdies and two bogeys for a great seven under par on the day to climb up the table. His compatriot Jeunghun Wang, leader after the first two days, is tied with Pigem in the second step after signing the par.
American John Catlin (-8), a triple winner on the DP World Tour, four-time winner on the Asian Tour and who resides in this area of Thailand, lurks in fifth place after scoring a 69 at Springfield, the course where he usually trains.
Álvaro Quirós (+5), the other Spaniard still standing after being eliminated in the first cut Gonzalo Fernández Castaño, needs a feat in the fourth round if he wants to have options to enter the top 70 that gives access to the final round. The player from Guadiaro, who competed in the Lakeview starting from hole 10, shone in the first nine flags, with eagle on the 15 and birdie on the 17, but on the 1 he stumbled and made a double bogey, recovered with the birdie of the 3 and again had two stumbles (6 and 7) to finish the round at par. He is six strokes from the top 70 and eight from the top 35. Nothing is impossible, although he will need everything to go perfect for him tomorrow to overcome the second cut and stay alive in the fight for an Asian Tour card.
