Juvic sizzles with 66, leads by three

DAVAO, Philippines – Juvic Pagunsan put it a solid round of six-under par 66 despite a last-hole bogey, gaining a three-stroke lead over veteran campaigner Antolin Fernando at the start of the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour’s Apo Classic at the Apo Golf and Country Club course here yesterday.

Pagunsan, on a break from the Asian Tour where he had one victory, made four birdies in each of the nines against two bogeys with heavy rains the last two days rendering the hazard-laden, tree-lined course soggy and forcing organizers of the 54-hole event to apply the preferred lie rule.

The 30-year-old smooth-swinging shotmaker from Bacolod took advantage of the set-up and opened the backside with back-to-back birdies. He got stalled by a missed-green bogey on the next but regained his touch and rhythm and fired six birdies in the next 14 holes.

But he failed to complete a seven-under card, missing the green again on the 18th and failing to rescue par from around five feet for a 33-33 round.

Still, it was enough to put him atop the leaderboard in this third leg of a 10-stage circuit sponsored by ICTSI with Fernando flashing vintage form to shoot four birdies against a bogey for a 69 and Jun Bernis came charging back at dusk with a bogey-free two-under 70 for third.

Danny Zarate, winner of the first leg at Mt. Malarayat, carded a one-under par 71 on a two-birdie, one-bogey stint after missing four makeable birdie putts. He finished with a 35-36 to join Jerome Delariarte, Erwin Vinluan, Edwin Estrera, Elmer Salvador, Ebarra Quiachon and Asian Tour regular Artemio Murakami in fourth.