Juvic leads by two with another 68

MANILA, Philippines - Juvic Pagunsan moved closer to duplicating his wire-to-wire triumph at ICTSI-Apo Classic as he turned in a second straight 68 yesterday, hiking his lead to two over Elmer Salvador in the second round of the ICTSI-Canlubang Golf Invitational at Cangolf’s north course.

Pagunsan, 31, birdied four of the last 11 holes to complete a 34-34 round in a virtual repeat of his first round outing for a 136 aggregate, threatening to dominate the field the way he did in romping away with a six-shot victory at ICTSI-Apo leg last July.

Salvador, a two-leg winner and the Order of Merit leader, also shot a second straight 69 from five birdies against two bogeys for a 138, enabling Pagunsan to pad his lead to two strokes heading into the final round of the 54-hole, P1 million event serving as the final leg of the 10-stage circuit sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

Richard Sinfuego turned from one of the contenders into a main challenger as he sizzled with a bogey-free, eagle-aided seven-under 65 in ideal condition to jump into third place at 140.

Reeling from a three-over 75 in the first round, Sinfuego opened with a birdie-eagle in a superb stint at the front he capped with back-to-back birdies for a 31. He added two more birdies at the back, including one on the tough No. 18, that put him back into the thick of things.

Also staying in the hunt for the top P200,000 purse are rookie pro Anthony Fernando and ICTSI-Forest Hills winner Jay Bayron, who had 70 and 71, respectively, for joint fourth at 141 while reigning Philippine Open champion Angelo Que stood a stroke farther back at 142 after a 68.

Que, making his first stint in the tournament backed by MJ Carr Golf Management, Pisanti, Srixon, FAMI, Business Mirror, Motorola, Omnisource, Nike Golf, Tiger Gatorade and Pepsico, recovered from a so-so 74 Wednesday with a 35-33 round spiked by four birdies against a bogey at the backside of the challenging layout.

Ricky Marcelo matched par 72 for a 143 while Danny Zarate, winner of the kickoff leg at Mt. Malarayat, also had a 72 for a 145 while Gene Bondoc, impressive with a 71 in the first round, fumbled with a 75 for a 146 in a tie with Cassius Casas and Joenard Rates, who both shot 71s.

Pagunsan, who bucked the wind in a late-afternoon flight to seize control in the first round, played it steady with a birdie-bogey stint after five holes but got his putter working with back-to-back birdies from No. 8. He actually completed a three-birdie string with another one on No. 10 but could just hit one more birdie on the 14th against a slew of pars for those 34s.

But it proved enough to stretch his lead as Salvador had a rollercoaster round of three birdies against two bogeys at the front before settling down with his iron game at the back to produce two birdies.

Focus, however, will be on Sinfuego, who also honed his talent and skills on the long, wind-raked layout, who will try to duplicate his awesome 65 effort in a bid to clinch a first title on the tour after a number of top 10 finishes against Pagunsan and Salvador in the championship flight today.