Nagai wrests Visayas regional amateur lead

MANILA, Philippines - Gen Nagai, the prohibitive favorite from Cebu, fired a second round one-over-par 71 on Saturday to turn a two-stroke overnight deficit into a two-stroke lead over Nick Aleluya going into the final round of the NGAP’s Visayas Regional Am presented by the MVP Sports Foundation.

Nagai, a Japanese who calls the country home, fired nines of 37-34 for a 36-hole 136 aggregate over the tree-lined Binitn layout in Murcia town in Bacolod as Aleluya stumbled with a 74 in the event that is part of the PLDT Group Amateur Tour and backed by Pancake House, Golf Depot and Pacsports.

The final round practically boils down to a two-man race for the title with Fernando Mondares shooting a 74 to be six shots behind Aleluya and eight off Nagai’s pace.

Richard Holt, the retired businessman who teed off just three strokes behind Aleluya, floundered with an 88 and kissed his chances goodbye.

Aleluya, the Binitin caddy who tasted a tournament lead for the first time in his career Friday with an opening 74, actually padded his one-stroke overnight lead to two over Nagai with a steady 36 at the front.

But the 19-year-old, who first picked up a golf club when he was six, finished with three straight bogeys to hand Nagai the lead.

Nagai, a 16-year-old whose family migrated to Cebu when he was three, played the final nine at one-under 34 with a birdie on No. 16 and put himself on course towards winning the biggest title of his career.