Arbole holds sway in Negros

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines — Fourteen years of waiting have brought Art Arbole to a place he has long dreamed of reaching: the top of a Philippine Golf Tour leaderboard with a championship within sight.

Arbole took a major step toward ending that long title drought Tuesday, producing a personal-best 36-hole total and a bogey-free 67 to seize solo control at the halfway mark of the ICTSI Negros Occidental Classic at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club here.

For the second straight day, the short but tricky layout yielded to Arbole’s steady all-around game. More importantly, the performance gave the journeyman his first outright lead after two rounds – a position that carried both promise and pressure as the tournament heads into the pivotal final 36 holes.