After firing 11 birdies in the first two rounds, Tabuena struggled with his putter, making only one birdie in a round of 74, the first time he went over par.

Tabuena was even-par through 15 holes until he missed the greens on the 16th and 18th holes for bogeys.

“Everything went wrong today,” said Tabuena. “I was not comfortable with my shots and I was not confident. That’s golf. I just had a bad day.”

Tabuena admitted he was rattled a bit when he started missing putts and watched Kim making them.

“Golf is a mental game. Sometimes your psychological state matters a lot. Hopefully, I will play much better tomorrow,” he said.

Kim, who started the day one shot behind Tabuena, birdied two of the first five holes to seize the lead and eagled No. 11 on his way to a five-under par 67.

The Korean will start the final round with a six-shot lead over Tabuena.

“I played well today, especially my putting,” Kim said while dismissing suggestions that he had the gold medal in the bag. “The game isn’t over yet.”

It was also a Korean show in the team event, relegating the Philippines and Thailand to a battle for second place.

The Koreans finished the third round at 10-under par to improve to 24-under par for the tournament, 27 strokes ahead of the Filipinos and Thailand.

Marcel Puyat led the Nationals with a 71 while Mark Fernando rounded out scoring with a 73. Jerson Balasabas five-putted one hole and did not count with a 79.

National coach Tommy Manotoc said Tabuena could have fared much worse.

The Thais, led by Sripattranusorn’s 65, shot four-under 212 to draw level with the Filipinos.

A Korean sweep in the women’s event also looked imminent.

Kim Hyun Soo sizzled with a 65 to retain the lead in the individual event and power the Koreans to a 14-shot lead over China in the team event.

The Nationals lagged behind in sixth place at 452 with Chihiro Ikeda (70) and Dottie Ardina (76) counting. Mia Piccio failed to count with 79.

Nick Giongco, Manila Bulletin