Pagunsan fires 67, trails Bubba by 4

MANILA, Philippines – Juvic Pagunsan gunned down an eagle for the second straight day and fired a five-under 67 to move to joint eighth with three others, four strokes behind former Masters champion Bubba Watson and two others halfway through Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters 2015 at the Taiheiyo Club in Shizuoka, Japan yesterday.

Pagunsan, who eagled the par-5 11th to shoot a 69 Thursday, came through with a 3 on the par-5 18th this time, capping a near-flawless 33-34 card that put the Filipino ace in contention in the $1.2 million event.

He kicked off his second round charge with four birdies and a couple of scrambling pars after 10 holes, dropped a stroke on the par-3 17th but eagled the closing hole on a solid second shot.

With a 136 aggregate, the 37-year-old Pagunsan stood alongside Japanese Ryutaro Nagano, who fired a 66, Daisuke Maruyama, who also carded a 67, and Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand, who made a 69, four shots behind Watson, who slowed down with a 69 after a 63 for a 12-under 132.

Shingo Katayama and Thai Thanyakorn Khrongpha tied the American ace at the helm with a 68 and a 67, respectively, while Toshinori Muto and Yusaku Miyazato stood a stroke behind at 133 after a 66 and 67, respectively.

Over in Singapore, Miguel Tabuena wavered with a two-over 73 after an impressive 70 to drop to joint 14th at 143, three shots off Aussie Scott Barr in the second round of the World Classic Championship at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club in Singapore yesterday.

Barr matched par 71 to seize control at 140.