Gibson hangs tough vs top guns

TRECE MARTIRES, Cavite — In-form Rick Gibson continued to dish out superb games against a local field he seemed to have mastered each passing day as the Canadian ace turned in another under par card on another wind-blown day here yesterday, a 69 to remain on top of the heap halfway through the rich Ericsson-Smart zed Sherwood Hills Classic.

But Gibson had to lean on two late birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 and a late burst of energy to hold off the charging Cassius Casas under intense summer heat that added to the slew of challenges the pros had to tackle in this already demanding Sherwood layout.

"I’m a little bit tired. It was quite a long day out there," said the 39-year-old Gibson, now playing in great shape with a second and fourth place finishes after three legs of the new golf circuit and after nearly quitting the sport due to poor form in 1998.

But he quite seemed not to have grown tired of showing up the local bets as Gibson, who dominated practically the same field in last month’s Goma Cup in Boracay to win P200,000 in two days, pooled a 36-hole aggregate of 137, two shots clear of Casas heading into the weekend play of this event sponsored by Ericsson and Smart Zed and backed by Fil-Estate, La Paz Holdings, MRT and CAP.

Unlike in the first two legs, however, Gibson will have to contend this week with the likes of Casas, whose day-best bogey-free card of 67 wheeled him back into contention after a mediocre round of 72 Thursday.

"I just didn’t get the breaks in the first round," said Casas, who put in motion his title bid with a solid display of shotmaking that saw him gun down five birdies in a round marred by three flubbed birdie putts inside five feet.

Like Gibson, Casas showed some kind of a meltdown in the closing holes as the long-hitting dusky Davao shotmaker sputtered a bit with his only missed-green stints on Nos. 17 and 18, which he eventually parred with deft chip shots.

And Gibson will not only have to be wary of Casas, but a host of fancied bets as well, as Robert Pactolerin joined the hunt for the top P100,000 purse with a 69 that tied him with Casas at 137.

There is also Lito Rempojo, who stood at 140 after a 69, while Danny Zarate matched Pactolerin’s three-under card to be at 141, the same output put in by Asian PGA Tour regular Rodrigo Cuello, who also had a 69.

The run of under par rounds in this challenging layout augured well for the pros as it further underscored the rise in the level of their competitive play after virtually going tournament-less in nearly two years.

But it was Gibson, despite his conservative game, who has been the most consistent, his fine form further boosted by solid iron play and a lot of patience.

He showed it when he failed to rescue pars from the bunkers twice as Gibson simply ignored those miscues and went on to fire five birdies, including a curling 20-footer on No. 14 and a tap-in on the next hole.

"I had poor blasts, but I just kept my patience then made late birdies," said Gibson.