Manotoc catches Juvic at helm

CANLUBANG -- No pain, no gain.

Tommy Manotoc overcame back pains to fire a one-under-par 71, while Juvic Pagunsan bucked a nagging toothache to shoot an eagle-aided 73 as the Canlubang bets took charge with a three-stroke lead halfway through the DHL-NGAP men's amateur golf championship at Cangolf's north course yesterday.

Brandishing a new Ping-IST driver, Manotoc ripped Cangolf's coconut tree-lined fairways with remarkable resolve that virtually set up easy short iron shots for routine pars and a couple of birdies on his homeward trip for a 37-34 round in second to last flight to catch Pagunsan at the helm at 144.

Pagunsan, 24, bounced back from a shaky start with a pitch-in eagle from 20 yards on No. 14 as he salvaged a one-over-par 73 and stormed out of the clubhouse enjoying a three-stroke lead over his nearest pursuers until Manotoc, a player more than twice his age, came in with the day's lone under-par card.

That gave them a three-stroke lead over four others including Louie Dacudao, the first round leader who failed to take advantage of playing in the privacy of an early morning flight and fumbled with a birdie-less round of 77 after shooting a solid 70 Tuesday.

Artemio Murakami, the reigning national champion still searching his rightful place in the national team, put in a 73, the same score turned in by former national team mainstay Gerard Cantada for 147s as the country's top amateurs geared up for a showdown going into the last 36 holes of this championship sponsored by DHL and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

But Solomon Gines made sure Canlubang's bid here is all boxed up as he matched par 72 to join the 147 scorers.

Only the fancied Angelo Que, many-time member of the national squad and the best bet here following last year's champion Gerald Rosales decision to turn pro, was left out of the top 10 placers as he blew a two-under 34 at the front with a forgettable 42. That 76 pulled him down to No. 17 with a 154, 10 strokes off the joint leaders.

Ex-pro Tom Concon remained in the hunt of the title with a 74 and a 150 in a tie with Jong Laput, who dropped from a share of this to No. 7 after a 77.

"With the way I've been hitting my driver, I just had to ignore it," said Manotoc, referring to a sore back he sustained while trying to rip off the fairway on No. 17, the frontside of his game yesterday.

He was later rewarded by his bold move as the many-time member of the national team and spearhead of Cangolf in all interclub tournaments gunned down two birdies at the front, the last on No. 8 that gave him a share of the lead with Pagunsan.

It was actually a topsy-turvy second round with at least four players taking the lead at the halfway mark with Pagunsan rallying from two strokes down off Murakami with an eagle on No. 14. He dropped a stroke on a missed green bogey on No. 16 but regained it with a curling 20-foot birdie putt on Nov. 18.