Korea's Song seizes Philippine Open lead by four

CARMONA, Philippines — Minhyuk Song of South Korea led the foreigners' early day assault and flirted with a 59 as the 108th Philippine Open presented by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) toasted a new leader heading into weekend play where only a handful of local bets led by Lloyd Go survived the carnage at Manila Southwoods here.

Song played the final five holes of the difficult back nine — his outward trip — at seven-under highlighted by a two-hole stretch where he made a pitch-in eagle and an ace, as he went on to shoot a 10-under-par 60 to lead Thailand's Sarit Suwannarut by four shots with a 36-hole 130 aggregate.

"It just feels like so much has happened and I am still trying to process everything," Song said through a translator. "I'm just trying to think of it as a really great day."

His score, though, cannot pass as the new course record as the field has played to lift-clean-and-place rules the first two rounds. Danthai Boonma of Thailand still holds the record after shooting a 62 in the third round last year.

Go, meanwhile, grinded it out in the afternoon wave when conditions were a lot more difficult as the winds swirled in all directions that got a lot of fancied bets scrambling. The Cebu native shot a 68 to now be the best-placed Filipino with a 138, just a stroke ahead of Justin Quiban, who matched par.

Song first birdied the 14th when his approach hit the pin and the ball stopped near the hole. He had another birdie on the next and then dumping his approach shot on the 16th for that eagle. He then aced the 189-yard 17th before sealing a back nine 28 with another birdie on the easy par-5 18th.

"After that, I just went with the flow and kept playing," Song said as he went on to shoot four more birdies coming home. His brush with a 59 ended when he missed a birdie putt on the picturesque ninth short. 

"I was worried about potentially three-putting," Song said when asked of why he didn't give his birdie putt a chance. "I decided it was better to just get it close and make sure of the two putts." 

First round leader Nick Voke of New Zealand, playing in the afternoon wave this time, struggled to shoot a 74 to be nine shots out of the lead heading into the money rounds, even as Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand and pony-tailed Aussie Travis Smyth, who are running 1-2 in the Order of Merit race, went contrasting ways to shoot a 73 and 68 to now be tied at 141.

Go came out in 33 but struggled coming home, needing to nail a long, curling birdie putt on the 17th to get it to two-under and be one of a few carrying Philippine hopes in the weekend.

Quiban had a roller-coaster round for the second straight day, as he needed two birdies in his last five holes to rescue par and remain mathematically in the hunt for a first Philippine Open win as he enters the third round tied with Voke and eight others.

Sean Ramos also made a move, and the 22-year-old who won in Egypt a month ago is within range to make something happen in the weekend. He shot a 67 to be at 141.