Del Rosario blitzes way to hot 68

MANILA, Philippines - Pauline del Rosario charged home with five birdies and fired a four-under 68, surging past erstwhile leader and ICTSI teammate Sam Martirez to wrest a six-stroke lead in the second round of the FCG International Junior Golf tournament at the Sycuan Oak Glen Course in San Diego, California Monday.

Del Rosario, two down at the start of the day, fell a shot farther after nine hopes with a one-over 36 but hit five birdies at the back for a fiery 32 for that 68 that gave her a 36-hole total of 139.

Martirez, impressive with a 69 in the first round, wavered at the backside with a 41, marred by a four-over stint in a four-hole stretch from No. 12, finishing with a 76 and tumbling down to joint second at 145 with Taiwanese Minjou Chen, who carded a two-over 74, and Thai Benyapa Niphatsophon, who hobbled with a 75, and Abu Dhabi’s Sana Tufail, who matched par 72.

Princess Superal, the spearhead of Team ICTSI, eagled the par-5 No. 7 but fumbled with two bogeys against a birdie at the back and settled for a one-under 71. The SEA Games individual gold medalist barely moved up to joint sixth at 146 with Argentina’s Fabiana Yu, who turned in a 74, seven shots off Del Rosario heading to the final round of the 54-hole tournament serving as the Filipina bets tune-up for next week’s Junior World.

Abby Arevalo made a 74 for a 147.

Sofia Chabon, meanwhile, slowed down with a 72 after a 68 as she wound up second at 140, six strokes behind Ya-Chun Chang, who sizzled with a 66 to rule the 36-hole tournament with a 134. Yuka Saso shot a 71 but finished seven strokes behind at 141.