Ababa takes control of bunched-up leaderboard
Jonel Ababa did what needed to be done at the halfway point of the P2.5 million ICTSI Golf Classic on Wednesday. And knowing the tree-lined layout so well, the Davao native also knows what needs to be done in the third round.
“[Thursday’s third round] will be crucial,” Ababa said after returning a two-under-par 70 to wrest a one-shot lead over South Korea’s Gwon Min-wook with a horde of pursuers being just four, five shots behind. “I need to build on that lead so that I don’t get left behind on the final day.”
Ababa wasn’t the only Apo product to make a second round move, as the ailing Antonio Lascuña and Jay Bayron returned a 70 and 72 to be two and three shots behind, respectively. Joint first round leader Kakeru Ozeki of Japan and Zanieboy Gialon fired a 74 and 73, respectively, to be in the company of Bayron.
“I was only able to recover. I hit it bad at the start,” Ababa said after gunning down three of his five birdies inside his final six holes capped by a 20-footer on the final hole for a 143 aggregate.
Debuting pro
Meanwhile, Mafy Singson, playing her first tournament as a pro on a course she calls home, drained all of her four birdies in a six-hole stretch from No. 13 to rescue a level 72 and grab a two-shot lead in the ladies side of the event organized by the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) that concludes on Thursday.
“This is my home course, so I obviously want to do well,” Singson said after stringing together three straight birdies from the 13th for a 145 tally that dislodged another Apo product, Sarah Ababa, at the top.
Ababa fired a 75 even as Mikha Fortuna returned a 76 to be another stroke behind.
Apo showed just how tough it is playing as the 36-hole cut in the men’s event was pegged at 10-over 154, which Qualifying School topnotcher Aidric Chan made on the dot after a 75 to be at the tail end of a 41-man field that made it to the final two days.
Kristoffer Arevalo, the former national team member who skied to an opening 79, waltzed into solid contention after turning in a week-best 68 to be just four strokes off the pace, even as ex-Philippine Open champion Clyde Mondilla rebounded with a 73 to remain mathematically in contention at 150.
Edmar Salvador Jr., who held a piece of the first round lead with Ozeki, struggled to a 75 to join Arevalo and The Netherlands’ Guido van der Valk, the two-time The Country Club champion who matched par. INQ
