Kim Joo Hyung bucks odds, ties Clyde Mondilla at helm

STA. ROSA, Laguna, Philippines — Short in experience but long in talent, young Korean Kim Joo Hyung built enough cushion to survive another test of nerves at The Country Club’s tough finishing holes, firing the tournament-best one-under 71 to catch Clyde Mondilla at the helm midway through the TCC Invitational yesterday.

Leaders came and went in another punishing day here that saw three-time champion Angelo Que wrest control with a one-over overall card after 15 holes only to bogey the last three for a 75, opening round leader Jerson Balasabas double bogey the 18th for a 76 and Keanu Jahns fumble with three bogeys at the back to likewise limp with a three-over card.

Juvic Pagunsan, also seeking a record fourth TCC title like the long-hitting Que, went one-under after a birdie on No. 15 but bogeyed the next two holes for a 73 while Aussie Tim Stewart also bogeyed the last three for a 76, their poor finishes underscoring the elite field’s struggle on the layout’s exacting finishing holes and enabling Kim and Mondilla, who salvaged a 73, to storm ahead at 146.

This more than guaranteed another wild, unpredictable final 36 holes that has been the norm in this annual P5 million event kicking off the Philippine Golf Tour’s 10th season, the last two championships decided right on the 72nd hole.

Kim, who became the circuit’s youngest winner at 16 when he nipped Jobim Carlos by one at Pueblo de Oro last year, birdied three of the first five holes at the back to rebound from a 37 start in another hot, blustery day. But he bogeyed the 16th and barely saved a 71, which still bested Balasabas’ 72 that stood as the best in the first round.

“I got lucky I made this score. It was windy and very hot out there,” said Kim, seeking to keep the crown won by compatriot Micah Shin in record fashion last year.

Over in San Rafael, Bulacan, Pauline del Rosario put on a blistering start before slowing down at the backside to card a six-under 66 and open a whopping six-shot lead over amateur Eagle Ace Superal at the start of the ICTSI Royal Northwoods Ladies Classic at the Royal Northwoods Golf Club, Inc. yesterday.

Del Rosario, out to end a title spell after racking up four victories to win the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit title in 2017, birdied the first four holes then added two more on Nos. 6 and 7 to turn in a career-best start. A bogey on the ninth broke that stirring birdie-binge but the former amateur star birdied the par-3 12th before settling for pars for a 31-35 card.