Banker cashes in on top form, up by five

CANLUBANG – Golfers go to range or putting green after each round to tinker with their driving and polish their stroke. Abe Rosal fired a five-under par 67 yesterday then rushed to Makati not to hone up his game but to attend to his chores as executive of the KBC Bank.

Such is the routine for the diminutive Rosal whose commitment to his job remains higher than his enthusiasm for the sport although his stirring 32-35-67 round he made under the most challenging conditions at the north course of the Cangolf complex somehow changed his plans in the next two days, at least.

For good reason.

With a 137-aggregate and a five-stroke lead over fellow club bet Juvic Pagunsan, Rosal stood 36 holes from winning the eighth DHL-NGAP Open Amateur golf championship here.

"I really can’t explain why I’m playing this well right now. I’m basically a Saturday golfer pero pati ako gulat sa nilalaro ko," said Rosal, who credited veteran campaigner Tommy Manotoc for helping him fix his grip and posture that have boosted his confidence and game of late.

At 40, Rosal has not won a major tournament anywhere but has been one of the biggest reasons why Canlubang has been dominating the PAL interclub in the last three years. But with virtually only one player looming to spoil his bid, chances are Rosal is in for a successful week.

In fact, Cangolf top honcho Luigi Yulo had to talk to him after his round to ensure he would show up in the last two days after Rosal was reported to have plans of cutting short his stint if he’s come up with high scores in the first 36 holes.

Pagunsan, the Southeast Asian Games champion and the winner here in 2001, shot a second straight 71 on a day when the winds was at its fiercest as he took the challenger’s role after overnight leader Marvin Dumandan shot himself in the foot with a 79 and Jerome Delariarte struggled with a 74.

"Grabe ang hangin. Iyong mga 100 yards out nga, pina-punch ko na lang ng 9-iron para di matangay ng hangin," said Pagunsan, in solo second spot at 142.

Newly-crowned national caddies champion Jonard Rates moved up to solo third at 146 after a two-under 70 to tie Delariarte although they stood nine strokes adrift and would perhaps need to pray for the winds to blow doubly hard to shake Rosal off the leaderboard.

Another former caddies titlist, Jay Bayron, fired a 71 and was at 147 in the company of Jun Bernis (71-76), Boyet Zaragoza (73-74) and Dumandan, who was lucky to shoot a 68 in the first round but run out of it with a slew of bogeys in the front nine (42).

Rosal started with four straight pars and started to heat up at the fifth hole, where he holed a 10-footer for birdie. That set up a string of four birdies in a five-hole stretch from the seven-a streak he capped with a snaking 20-footer at the par-3 11th.

"Grabe ang hangin, but if you can keep your shots low you’ll be alright," said Rosal, who immediately rushed to the KBC Bank in Makati after the round.

In the ladies division, Lora Roberto fired a three-over 75 to post a three-shot lead over Anya Tanpinco and defending champion Carmelette Villaroman. Lina de Guzman is at 80, Lucy Landicho at 82 and RP Ladies champion Heidi Chua at 83.

On the other hand, Louie Advincula seized the lead in the inaugural staging of the seniors event with his 75. He is three shot clear of second-running Oscar Soriano.