Manotoc shares South Pacific lead
Gab Manotoc hasn’t opened a pro tournament in this swashbuckling way before, but swears he’s had better ball-striking days.
“Scoring was pretty good out there for me today; that’s the difference,” the 29-year-old Manotoc told the Inquirer after carving out a bogey-free six-under-par 66 on Tuesday as the P2.5-million ICTSI South Pacific Championship got underway in Davao.
“My putter just started heating up [in the back nine]; that was the difference,” he went on as he started the second round tied for the lead with Japan’s Kashihara Hirotaka. “I’ve had better ball-striking days, but today was special because I didn’t have to scramble to save pars.”
Russell Bautista, South Korean Song Lee and Clyde Mondilla trail by a stroke, with a five-man group led by Sean Ramos shooting 68s to be two strokes behind.
Manotoc hasn’t finished higher than 12th this season. He has made the cut in all of the first eight events and remains grounded despite his brilliant first-round effort.
“I’m not really expecting anything. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing,” Manotoc said after playing the front nine—his homeward trip, at five-under 31.
Meanwhile, Hirotaka also had a 31 on the front nine, which he highlighted with an eagle 3 on No. 2 set up by a magnificent 4-iron from 210 yards to within seven feet of the cup.
“I guess I am just very lucky,” the 34-year-old journeyman said as he became the second foreigner this season to hold at least a piece of the lead in a tournament after countryman Miki Ryoma in Iloilo. “I played very well despite the heat. The weather didn’t affect my game.”
