Luna, three RP bets make cut

Fil-Am Rhey Luna showed up his more seasoned Filipino counterparts as he matched par 72 for the second straight day to stay within striking distance of the leaders halfway through the final stage of the Asian PGA Tour Qualifier in Malaysia Thursday.

With a 144 aggregate at the Orna Golf and Country Club course in Malacca, Luna stood at 19th place, seven strokes behind frontrunner Terry Pilkadaris of Australia, who had a 137 after a 68.

A total of 80 players from an original list of 148 made the halfway cut in their chase for 40 Davidoff Tour cards for the new season. Mars Pucay and Rodrigo Cuello struggled with 76s for 41st (147) and 47th (148) places, respectively while Cassius Casas had a 74 for a 149 for 52nd place.

Casas and Cuello had actually gained country exempt status to this year’s Davidoff Tour by qualifying in the elims staged by the PGAP (Professional Golfers Association of the Phils.) recently, but they still opted to pass through the APGA qualifier to ensure their stints in big-money events on the Tour.

Only two Filipinos - Gerald Rosales and Danny Zarate - managed to keep their Tour cards by finishing in the top 60 in last year’s Order of Merit ranking of the Asian PGA Tour.