Pagunsan 5 shots adrift on second 69 in The Crowns golf tiff

MANILA, Philippines – Juvic Pagunsan birdied the par-3 17th to save a one-under 69 but dropped five strokes behind Rikuya Hoshino halfway through The Crowns golf tournament at Nagoya Golf Club’s Wago course in Aichi Prefecture in Japan Friday.

The smooth-swinging Filipino ace birdied the first two holes despite missing both fairways of the par-70 layout but went on a roller-coaster ride from there, stumbling with three bogeys against two birdies, the last on the penultimate hole that secured a second straight 69 for a 138 and a share of 13th.

He hit just five fairways but banked on his superb short game, spiked by a 26-putt showing, three less than his first round performance.

Hoshino, meanwhile, followed up his first round 67 with a 66 as he grabbed the lead at 133, a shot ahead of Masaya Hattori, who birdied three of the last eight holes for a 67 to match Hiroshi Iwata’s cards for the second straight day.

Joining them at second at 134 are Mirai Horikawa and Naoyuki Kaneda, who turned in 68 and 69, respectively.

While Pagunsan safely made it to the weekend play of the Y110 million event, Justin delos Santos fell by the wayside with a 71 as the Fil-Am shotmaker wound up with a 147 marred by an opening round 76.