Casas fires 71, stays in hunt for PGA slot

PENSACOLA, Florida – Mixing up his shots and getting a few lucky breaks, Cassius Casas recovered from a near-disastrous 76 in the first round with a one-under-par 71 Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) as the Filipino shotmaker resumed his hunt for a US PGA Tour slot at the Pensacola Country Club.

With a 36-hole aggregate of 147, Casas stood just three strokes adrift of the field’s 20th placer and then later said he’s well within reach of his target for a spot in the next round of this gruelling three-round qualifier spread in over nine other courses in Texas, Tennessee, California, North Carolina and Nevada.

From a share of 42nd place, no thanks to an erratic 39-37 round Tuesday, Casas now shares 31st place and is confident of making the Magic 20.

Before the 60-player field teed off at the seaside layout, the PGA Tour announced that only the top 20 finishers after 72 holes will advance to the second stage of the Qualifying School set next month in Texas. The 21st to 24th places will serve as alternates.

"I felt that there was a big task at hand and I tried my best to get under-par because it was crucial to my survival," said the 34-year-old Casas, who is trying to become the first Filipino player to make it to the world’s most prestigious pro tour.

There was nothing more crucial than the two breaks that went his way on his homeward trip on the eighth and ninth holes.

As he tried to reach the par-5 eighth in two, Casas’ 6-iron second shot hit the front edge of a canal crossing the fairway and made a big, long bounce near the green. But he flubbed a birdie chance on a bad chip shot and a weak putt from four feet.

Then Casas hit a wild drive on No. 9, the ball grazing the out-of-bounds line although the Filipino heaved a sigh of relief after it was blocked from going outside by a huge tree.

Still, the dusky Davaoeno shotmaker was left with an awkward lie for his approach and needed to lean on the tree to make a 5-iron punch shot. From 30 yards out, Casas then made a fantastic chip for a tap-in par.