Japanese bucks rivals’ big charge

BAGUIO — Pressured by a slew of local bets and slowed down early by poor form, Tonokazu Yoshinaga came through with a spectacular, if miraculous shot in between a swarm of pine trees on No. 17 for birdie and a 69 that kept the gutsy Japanese at the helm with one round left in the Camp John Hay Open here yesterday.

It was a devil-may-care shot that reverberated through the elegant clubhouse of John Hay as Yoshinaga, after hacking his second shot on the par 5 17th into the woods, bravely punched a 7-iron in a situation nobody would perhaps dare to try, the ball passing in between a foot-wide space before landing on the fringe and rolling pin-high.

He made the putt, made it to the clubhouse safe and sound and still holder of the lead he had either shared or held alone since the first round. Yoshinaga’s equally impressive par-windup on the tricky par 3 No. 18 kept him on top although his two-stroke advantage over Ramon Brobio, who also had a 69, Sunday was reduced to just one on a 199 aggregate.

But although he succeeded in holding off Brobio, who gained a share of the lead on a two-shot swing (birdie-bogey) on the par 5 No. 1, Yoshinaga failed to stop the onrush of at least seven other players, who moved in contention with fairly fine rounds, setting a wild, wild final round shootout over the short but tricky par 68 layout whose character varies from every hole.

"I didn’t know what to do. I just punched a 7-iron iron and whooo, it was there," said Yoshinaga, gesturing a pin-high putt which he knocked in with great pride and enthusiasm.

But more guts and confidence the 23-year-old Yoshinaga would need to dish out today as Tony Lascuna, nine down at the start of the day, fired the tournament’s best 61 to emerge the top pursuer at 200 with Brobio, raring to win his second pro crown in six years, just a stroke behind at 201.

"Nervous a little bit at the start but I had a good comeback," said Yoshinaga, who dropped four strokes in an unlikely birdie-less stint in the front side, including a first-ever three-putt par on the par 4 No. 8 which he reached in one.

"Kailangan makunan na agad sa una pa lang," said Lascuna, who won the Ericsson Tour crown at nearby Baguio Country Club in1998. The dusky Canlubang pro rattled off eight birdies, including three straight from No. 14 that spiked a round of 31-30.

"It is the type of course where anybody can shoot a 61 but of course, one has to come up with right shots and make the putts," said Brobio, who won his pro crown in the Philip Morris Classic at Sta. Elena in 1995.