Casas survives putting woes, foes’ charge

DASMARINAS, Cavite — Expecting a romp from an early morning flight, Cassius Casas found himself struggling in the sudden rain that hounded his putting stroke, barely surviving the charge of four rivals with an even-par 72 in the second round of the First Gentleman’s Professional Golf Circuit at the Palmer course here yesterday.

He kept his overnight two-shot lead intact with a 140, but Casas, out to grab the Order of Merit leadership in the circuit bankrolled by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo’s foundation and San Miguel Beer, will have his hands full in the last two days as a slew of players is out to foil his bid in this 72-hole event serving as the penultimate leg of the 12-stage tour.

Rodrigo Cuello, who won here in 1998 in a rain-shortened victory, moved up to second with a 71 and a 142 while last week’s winner Rey Pagunsan, after a forgettable 76 Tuesday, bounced back into contention with a 67 to tie Edwin Estrera at second.

The unfancied Estrera came very close to trying the 65 established by Michael Campbell of New Zealand in the memorable 1995 Johnnie Walker Classic as he shot the day’s best score of 66.

Robert Pactolerin, the talented long-hitting shotmaker still seeking his first win in this tour presented by San Miguel Beer, turned in the day’s fourth under-par card, a 71 that put the burly pro at 144 in the company of Eddie Bagtas (72) and Japanese Tomo Yoshinago.

An early downpour that made the speed of the greens hard to read spoiled what could have been another big round for the back-in-form Casas who hit 17 greens in regulation despite the winds that blew hard all day. He had 16 pars, a birdie on No. 2 and a bogey on the 18th across his card.

"Biglang umulan kaya mahirap basahin ang greens, tapos lumakas ang hangin. Sayang maganda pa naman ang diskarte sa bakal, maraming palo ang dikit sa bandera," said Casas, who had posted one win and three runner-up finishes in the last four weeks.

Casas flubbed about seven birdie putts from less than four feet that could have taken him farther ahead of the field.

After breaking the winners’ circle last week by beating Casas for the Tagaytay Midlands leg, the late-starting Pagunsan moved into striking position again with that 67 as he exploited the better conditions in the afternoon.

Rudy Enema hogged the spotlight with a hole-in-one feat on the 12th hole to win a bonus prize of P10,000 cash and P5,000 gift certificate from Orchard. He finished with a 73 and was tired for 16th with rookie pro Angelo Que (76) at 148.

Today’s round should see the top guns of the tour taking bolder moves with the top 20 players in the standings separated by just eight strokes or less.

Benjie Magada, a two-leg winner like Casas, barely survived the cut with his 79-155, making him the 40th and last qualifier.