Pagunsan tames wind, leads by one over Korean

CANLUBANG–Juvic Pagunsan came out virtually unscathed from a windy stint at the backside of Cangolf’s north course here yesterday, firing a 32 for a 67 that foiled the bid of an unheralded Korean player to steal the spotlight from the fancied bets at the start of the DHL-NGAP Amateur Open Golf Championships.

It was a familiar place for the 25-year-old ace shotmaker, whose familiarity with the course netted six birdies, including four at the back where the dreaded winds blew the bids of the other contenders but failed to slow down the most fancied player in the fold.

But it was Kim Chang Hoi, a last-minute entry out of the Royal Northwoods in Bulacan who nearly stole the thunder from the big guns of amateur golf as he banged into the clubhouse in the last flight with a four-under 68 card.

The foreign bet quickly left as soon as he signed his scorecard, which nevertheless showed the brilliance in the man who tamed the winds with superb iron shots that set up three birdies at the front for a 33.

He went four-under with another birdie on the 10th, dropped in the middle of the pack with back-to-back bogeys from No. 13 but bounced back to snatch second place with back-to-back birdies from No. 16.

Having showed he can score even under the most demanding conditions at Cangolf, Kim, one of the million Korean golfers in the country, hopes to show his true worth when he tees off in the first flight at 8 a.m. today.

"Biglang lumakas ang hangin sa backnine," said Pagunsan, who could’ve actually churned out a much lower score if not for his three flubbed putts, including one from three feet on No. 14 where the ball headed straight to cup but lipped out.

That set in motion Pagunsan’s bid for a first-ever crown in the annual event, the biggest tournament outside of the national championship sponsored by DHL Express, and a chance to atone for his 11-stroke loss to fellow home bet Abe Rosal last year.

While Pagunsan fashioned out a solid start, Rosal drove out-of-bounds right on the first hole to open his title-retention bid with a double-bogey 6 although the KBC Bank deputy general manager flashed some kind of resiliency by firing five birdies against three bogeys to save a round of 72.

With Rosal struggling, Jun Bernis, another club bet, seized the moment and shot a 69 that surprised everybody, including himself, as he found himself sharing second place with another home bet Jay Bayron, who shot the day’s other three-under par card.

Pinde delos Santos of Eastridge and Erwin Vinluan of DHL-Mizuno were the only other non-Cangolf players to break par in a day of changing fortunes as they carded 70 and 71, respectively, for fifth and sixth places in this event backed by WWWExpress and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Phils.

Earlier, NGAP president and DHL/WWWExpress chair Rod Feliciano, DHL country manager Charles Brewer, NGAP vice president Admiral Luisito Fernandez, WWWExpress president Joe Feliciano and tournament chair Danny Pizarro hit the ceremonial drive to kick off this 72-hole event which gathered the best and promising talents in the ranks.

Meanwhile, the 54-hole ladies tournament gets underway today with focus on Lora Roberto, Lucy Landicho, Carmelette Villaroman and ace jungolfer Jayvie Agojo.