Gibson escapes with lead

The 40-year-old Gibson, plunging back into action only last year after an extended three-year break from golf, birdied the 16th and 17th and made a superb recovery for par from 18 feet after a 7-iron second shot to keep the lead.

That best described his round that netted a three-under par 69 as he flashed impeccable short game on the second day of the $175,000 event and, with his opening 68, had a 137, one up on American Greg Hanrahan.

At least four strokes behind a hungry pack that includes three Filipinos – Tony Lascuña, Frankie Miñoza and amateur standout Angelo Que.

Gibson, married to Filipina actress Josephine Garcia, isn’t surprised at all hanging on to the lead and becoming the only player to score in the ’60s in the first two days, saying the dry condition suits him fine in his search for a first RP Open title and the $31,000 winner’s purse.

"I’m not a long-hitter so when it gets a little dry, I get a little more roll and get out more of my short irons and that’s the strength of my game. I just try to hit as many fairways as I can. This course is all about positioning. You try to keep it on the right position and hope for lots of birdie chances," he said.

The Thailand-based Hanrahan, who fired a 70 the other day, quietly nailed seven birdies against three bogeys for a four-under round  and a 138 total, just a shade behind Gibson.

He now has 12 birdies in two rounds despite admitting that he rarely makes 12 birdies in a week.

Behind Hanrahan at 141 is Lascuña who fired a 70 followed by Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol (70), Miñoza (72) and Que (73) at 142 and Korean Anthony Kang, the 1999 winner at Southwoods who rebounded with a 69, spiked

by three straight birdies from the second, from a 74 for a 143 aggregate.

"After getting off to a good start like that, it’s a little bit of a disappointment to shoot a three-under today. But I

felt pretty good today swinging the club. I was making a lot of putts. I just want to give myself more chances for birdies. My plan is just to keep myself in the ballgame," said Kang, who grew up in the US.

While Miñoza continued to remain on track, Cassius Casas, last year’s winner, remained on a slump, missing the halfway cut – pegged at 152 or 8-over—by a mere stroke. He went even par yesterday and will have to look back at his quadruple bogey on the 17th the other day as the hole that did him in.

In the opening round, Casas blasted four times in the 160-yard, par-3 17th and was lucky enough to hole from 10 feet for a seven. In his last four tournaments, Casas was just as miserable, finishing 27th in the Myanmar Open, withdrawing after the first round of the Indian Open and missing the cut in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia.

Aside from Casas, the other big players who didn’t survive the cut were Gerard Cantada (153), Cesar Ababa (157), Olle Nordberg of Sweden (160), Rodrigo Cuello (162) and amateur standout Cookie LaO (154), Jesselito Saragoza (159), Jay Bayron (165) and Marvin Dumandan (166).

Next to Que, the other amateurs who made it to the weekend rounds were Marlon Dizon (147), Juvic Pagunsan (152) and the tireless Tommy Manotoc (152).