Grace Quintanilla birdied three of her last four holes to make up for a bum start on Thursday, going on to shoot a one-under-par 70 that gave the Filipino teen from Cebu a six-shot lead heading into the final round of women’s play of the Singapore Amateur Open at the age-old Bukit course of Singapore Island Country Club.

Quintanilla actually played her last nine holes in 32 for a 54-hole 208 as finished strong after dropping three shots in a five-hole span from No. 3, leaving home bet Amelie Ng six shots behind even after her best round of the week, a 69, that had her catching Hong Kong China’s Xizihan Wang at 214.

Hei Tung Leung, another entry from the HK-China squad who started the day just a shot behind Quintanilla, ballooned to a 78 where she bogeyed eight of her first 12 holes to basically shoot herself out of the individual championship race, now nine shots back.

Quintanilla moved on the cusp of one of the biggest triumphs in her young career after shooting par or better in all three rounds. She opened up with a 67 on Tuesday and hung tough in the second round by returning a 71 that kept Leung at bay on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Jet Hernandez carved out a 68 to be within three shots of Jonty Lunzon, the other half of the prolific Australian tandem that ran away with the team title, to catch Rolando Bregente in a tie for fourth spot with 18 holes left in men’s individual play.

A senior at the University of Denver in the United States, Hernandez was actually on a hot streak of three straight birdies from No. 13 before dropping his second shot of the day on the 16th. He closed out with a birdie on the par-5 18th for the proverbial momentum he needs to start the final round on Friday.

Bregente, the first-round leader who opened with a 64 on Tuesday, cracked par for the third straight round, a 69 this time, but still found himself losing a lot of ground after settling for a par on the closing hole.

Lunson fired a 66 for a 54-hole 200 aggregate, leading Hong Kong-China’s Markus Lam by a shot after the Chinese shot a 65.

Australia’s Max Moring, who had the lead at the start of the day after shooting a blazing 62 in the second round, cooled down considerably with a 71, which he was able to rescue only after birdies on the 15th and 18th holes.

He will start the final day holding the last place on the podium, just a shot ahead of the determined Filipino bets Hernandez and Bregente.