Bondoc wavers, drops to 4-way tie

TRECE MARTIRES, Cavite, Philippines  – Gene Bondoc negated an eagle feat with a closing double-bogey on No. 9, settling for a four-under 68 and dropping to a crowded leaderboard that includes fancied Tony Lascuna, Elmer Salvador and Mars Pucay at the start of the ICTSI Sherwood Hills Golf Classic here yesterday.

Bondoc set in motion his bid to end a long search for victory with back-to-back birdies at the backside of the Sherwood Hills Golf and Country Club, bucked a bogey mishap on No. 2 with an eagle on the par-5 No. 5 then birdied three of the next four holes to go six-under.

But he missed the green of the tough par-4 No. 9, made three putts for double-bogey and missed gaining the solo lead in the P1 million event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. Lascuna likewise fumbled with a bogey on No. 9, failing to return a six-footer for par.

Pucay, an Asian Tour veteran also out to snap a long victory drought on the local circuit, also bogeyed his final hole on No. 9 when he dumped his 5-iron approach shot from 195 yards into the rough on the left side of the green, the lone black mark in a scorecard that featured birdies on Nos. 12, 14, 15, 4 and 8.

Salvador, who lost the Singapore Classic crown on the Asian Tour in a thrilling six-hole playoff duel with Himmat Rai of India three weeks ago, preserved a bogey-free round of 68 to put himself in the hunt in the 54-hole event sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

The four thus took a two-stroke lead over defending champion Marvin Dumandan, Cassius Casas, Arnold Villacencio, Danny Zarate and Elmer Saban, who all had 70s, while obscure Randy Garalde stood in solo 10th with a one-under 71 over a course that played to championship form following the onslaught of Typhoon Pedring with its fairways remaining soft and its stimpmeter reading at 11.

Benjie Magada, Carito Villaroman and Joenard Rates matched par 72s while Paul Echavez carded a 73 in a tie with Sonny Villaber, Ernie Rellon, and Rey Pagunsan, who sizzled in the early going with a 34 only to falter with a 39.

Lascuna, who had two runner-up finishes this year, including a four-hole playoff loss to Robert Pactolerin at ICTSI Negros Occidental Classic last July, used a near-impeccable iron game to put himself in early contention for the top P200,000 purse. He had two tap-in birdies and hit four more inside seven feet against two bogeys from errant drives.

“My game was pretty okay.  I just had my swing checked because I haven’t been driving off well.  I’m still adjusting to the new one. Hopefully, I will do better tomorrow (Friday),” said Lascuna, who after a joint runner-up finish at Aboitiz Invitational, wound up joint 51st in the Singapore Classic then ended up 47th in Macau Open.

“It was a good game. I enjoyed my round because the condition of the course was impressive. I didn’t see any after-effect of Typhoon Pedring, fairways and greens were soft,” said Pucay, who marked his round with a chip-in birdie from 30 yards on No. 15.

Dumandan, still in search of his first victory in the season after racking up three leg wins last year, overcame a poor start with a solid finish, hitting an eagle on the par-5 No. 12 to fuel a fiery rally of 33 for a 70.

Casas also fought back from an opening 37 at the back with a 33, spiking his frontside blitz with three birdies while unheralded Saban mixed four birdies with two bogeys for the other 70s.

Garalde, down in 26th in the Order of Merit, went four-under in a brilliant stint over three holes, highlighted by an eagle on No. 4 to lurk behind the fancied bets in the 12th leg of the 16-stage circuit backed by MJ Carr Golf Management, Inc., Srixon, Callaway, Unilab, BDO, Titleist, Sharp, Custom Clubmakers, Mizuno, PinoyGolfer.com, Inquirer Golf, Omnisource International, A Round of Golf, Studio 23, Balls, and Dynamic Sports.

The rest struggled despite playing under winter rules with Jay Bayron failing to cash in on his early morning tee-time with a two-over 74 marred by a double bogey and three bogeys against three birdies.

Jhonnel Ababa, winner of two legs at ICTSI Iloilo and ICTSI Riviera, wavered with a 39 at the front and wound up tied with Bayron at 74 along with ICTSI Negros Occidental leg winner Robert Pactolerin while Artemio Murakami sputtered with a 75.