Combining luck with talent, Saragoza came away with a rare two-eagle feat for a five-under par 67 yesterday, dislodging fancied Cangolf teammate Juvic Pagunsan at the helm and moving closer to a first big win in the 10th DHL-WWWExpress National Amateur Golf Championships here.
Saragoza, who has languished in the shadows of his most illustrious teammates in the national squad for years, overhauled Pagunsan’s overnight two-stroke lead with a birdie-eagle opening, sinking a 3 on the par-5 No. 2 when he blasted out of the bunker and into the hole. Although he quickly gave away the two strokes on the next with an errant drive, Saragoza gunned down birdies on Nos. 5 and 13 to remain on top before rolling in another eagle putt from eight feet on the par-5 14th.
The binge didn’t end there as Saragoza, who hit 10 fairways and reached all but three greens in regulation, holed out with another birdie on the 18th to cap his 35-32 round and a 54-hole aggregate of 208 for a one-shot lead over Pagunsan at Cangolf’s north course.
Pagunsan failed to sustain his second day brilliance of nine birdies and a 66 as he settled for a two-under par 70 on three birdies against a bogey and slid to second place at 209. But the World Amateurs veteran, who had hinted at joining the pro ranks soon, never really strayed too far and in fact stood just one stroke behind, ensuring a shootout for the crown in this event sponsored by DHL World Express and WWWExpress.
"Si Juvic pa rin ang matinding kalaban bukas (today)," said Saragoza.
Tonton Asistio, the youthful Southwoods bet, matched par 72 and stood at third with a 212, needing a solid round to catch up and crowd the pacesetters for the crown. So does former national champion Artemio Murakami, who had a 215 after a 71.
While a two-player battle looms in the men’s championship, the fight for the ladies crown is a cinch for fancied Jayvie Agojo, who floundered with a six-over 78 but was lucky enough to remain at the helm when Korean Lee Seo Jae was disqualified for signing a wrong scorecard.
Jae birdied the par 5 No. 17 and went on to card a 74. But her marker, Anya Tanpinco’s caddie, put a 3 instead of a 4. The Korean then signed the scorecard without reviewing it and was disqualified.
She could’ve tied the ace Filipina shotmaker for the lead at 152 heading into the final round of the 54-hole championship, which the 18-year-old Agojo hopes to add to her growing list of victories.
With Jae out of the way, Agojo took a whopping seven-stroke lead over Lora Roberto and Debbie de Villa who had 159s after an 81 and 78, respectively.
Club bet Lina de Guzman failed to get her rhythm going and limped with an 81 for a 160, the same output put in by Aileen Rose Yao (78) and Carmelette Villaroman (77).
JR Tanpinco, who shared the first round lead with Saragoza, Asistio and Michael Bibat, shot a 71 for a share of fifth with Choi Ming Gyu, firing a 70, at 217 while Gene Bondoc and Marvin Dumandan were in joint seventh at 218 after identical 72s.
Defending champion Jun Bernis closed out with a double-bogey and a forgettable 75 as he virtually kissed his title-retention bid goodbye with a 219, 11 strokes off Saragoza.