CANLUBANG—Juvic Pagunsan fired three birdies in a row in the back nine en route to a second straight 69 and a one-shot lead over Elmer Salvador in an eventful third round yesterday in The Country Club Invitational at the TCC course.

On a day when the lead changed hands several times, Pagunsan found himself on a very familiar place, thanks to a birdie-binge from the par-5 No. 14 that sparked his fight back and another victory in the P4.5 million event.

He had a 54-hole haul of 208, one stroke ahead of Salvador, who grabbed the lead right on No. 1 from a big three-shot swing after Pagunsan opened with a double-bogey, only to yield it in the face of Pagunsan’s fiery finish. Salvador also wound up with a second straight 69 for a 209.

“I had so many chances but blew them,” rued Salvador in Filipino. “But I Iiked my chances, just one stroke behind Juvic.”

Carl Santos-Ocampo joins the fancied duo in the championship flight today, also after a 69 for a 211, losing grip of the lead he had wrested after a brilliant eagle feat on the 14th that capped a stirring four-under card in a three-hole stretch from No. 12.

Jayvie Agojo, the lady amateur who showed up the elite field in the first round with a 69 and shared the spotlight with Pagunsan halfway through, succumbed to pressure when paired against Pagunsan and Salvador in the featured flight, bogeying three of the last five holes for a 74 and a 213.

Former champions Cassius Casas and Tony Lascuna stood seven strokes off Pagunsan at 215 after a pair of 71s but lead is safe at the TCC although the duo would need to shoot in the low 60s to pose a challenge to a player as talented as the reigning Asian Tour No. 1.

Rufino Bayron, five shots behind the leaders at the start of the round, threatened in the early going with two birdies in the first four holes. But the former national team standout, who won a pro tournament as an amateur in the revival of the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour in late 2008, floundered when the going got tough, bogeying four of his last 12 holes for a 72. He ended up with a 216 in a tie with Mars Pucay, who also had a 72, and Angelo Que, the defending back-to-back champion in the event put up by ICTSI chair and CEO Ricky Razon in honor of his late father, ICTSI founder Don Pocholo.

Que finally hit his stride after a pair of so-so rounds of 75-73, ramming in five birdies against three bogeys for a 68. He could’ve shot better and moved a little closer if not for his late bogeys on Nos. 15 and 18.