Cantada, Tanpinco wrest lead

SILANG, CAVITE — Defending champions Gerard Cantada and JR Tanpinco fumbled with a seven-over par 78 yesterday, but found themselves the leaders in the Konica Minolta National Pro-Am as the rest of the field limped home with awful scores under brutal playing condition at the Riviera’s Langer course.

Cantada and Tanpinco, out to win a record three-straight victory, rallied with a 37 after a 41 opening for that 78 and a 152 as they seized a one-stroke lead over Richard Abaring and club bet Marvin Dumandan halfway through this event offering P1.7 million in total purse.

Abaring and Dumandan combined for 79 for a 153.

Tied for third with 154s were Lito Rempojo-Gene Bondoc (78), Jess Casas-Boyet Saragoza (78), Jess Hernandez-Jay Baron (78) and Zaldy Salvador-Rufino Bayron in the one-ball, twosome format that gives the winning pro P234,940 and his amateur partner P58,735 worth of merchandise.

Winds of up to almost 60kph blitzed the par-71 layout from morning till near sunset and swept field of nearly 200 players, only seven of whom were able to break 80 as bogeys and double bogeys became the order of the day.

So strong were the winds they bended bananas and banabas and uprooted some violet bougainvilleas in bloom.

The best score for the day was a 77, six-over, jointly submitted by Rempojo-Bondoc and Solomon-Gines-Erwin Vinluan.

Gines and Vinluan were at 159, seven shots off the pace.

The biggest casualty were Erwin Arcillas and Bong Ubasa, the first-day leaders, who skied to 87 from 73 and were eight shots at 160 in a tie with Randy Garalde-Adrian Mauricio (82), Rey Alit-Rodante Joya (85), Florencio Pioquinto-Ronnie Sarigumba (81) and Danny Fortusa-Ronnie Torrecampo (82).

The Top 30 plus ties after today’s third round will advance into the final 18 holes tomorrow in the tournament presented by U-Bix Corp. in cooperation with Konica Minolta Technologies of Japan and backed by Grappa’s Ristorante, Pivo Praha and S-Yard and supported by Brother, Riso, Epson, BMG Solar, WWW.Express, Airlift Asia, Waste Management Systems Inc., PSC, PCI Bank, Unionbank, Metro Bank, Riso, ServiceMaster, Land Bank, Casio, Epson and Okamura Furniture.

"The winds today were the strongest I’ve ever seen since I started playing golf," said Cantada. "It was so difficult and tiring."

The rest of the Top 10 include Ibarra Quyiachon-Jun Bernis at 81-157, Juanito Pagunsan-Brixton Aw at 79-158, Ronnie Casas-Ferdie Aunzo at 80-158 and Marlon Dizon-Sammy Sy at 80-158.