Filipinos now 10 down after second round struggles
The Philippine team trio in the 31st Nomura Cup all struggled in the second round, but being 10 shots down has only lit a fire in all of them as they begin chasing down Hong Kong-China and Japan starting Thursday.
“The putter was cold out there,” said Shinichi Suzuki, who missed just four greens on Wednesday but had to settle for a level-par 72 as the Filipinos tallied 146 to drop to third overall at 288. “Today wasn’t our day, but there’s still so much golf to be played.”
Jet Hernandez had a “weird day with drives going everywhere” but still ground out a courageous 74 for the second PH score, even as Rolando Bregente, who led scoring for the Filipinos with a 69 on Tuesday, failed to count after submitting a 75.
“My irons got a little cold during the second nine, speed of the putts was a little off,” Hernandez told the Inquirer in recounting his round at Bayhood No. 9 in Beijing, China, where Hong Kong-China padded its lead over Japan to six after a 138 for 278. “I just tried to work with what I had today and produce the lowest possible number.”
Bregente, meanwhile, triple-bogeyed the par-3 fourth hole, which practically threw away a round he tried to save even after a very cold start. Still, his struggles—and after learning those of his teammates—gave the 24-year-old more confidence heading into the third round.
“We still haven’t played our best yet, and I am sure we are due for that,” Bregente told the Inquirer in Filipino in a separate interview.
Hernandez, the 21-year-old who is an incoming psychology senior at University of Denver, shares Bregente’s views and is not about to throw in the towel.
“We talked about the deficit and we’re pretty confident that we can still make something happen,” he said. “Ten shots in two days is very doable [in team play], and I don’t think any of us have played to what we know we’re capable of yet.”
“We just have to keep on plugging away and win the little things and we have a good shot.”
Hong Kong-China fired a 138 boosted by the 67 of Ethan Tian as it takes a 278 aggregate into the third round, 10-under over the tough layout. Japan submitted a second straight 142 for 284.
