Hot Pagunsan cards 64, forces 3-way tie at helm

MANILA, Philippines - Juvic Pagunsan flashed the form that made him the Asian Tour No. 1 in 2011, firing a brilliant eight-under 64 to grab a share of the lead with Korean Park Sang-hyun and Japan’s Ryuko Tokimatsu midway through the Jakarta Indonesia PGA Championship at the Damai Indah Golf’s Bumi Serpong Damai course in Jakarta yesterday.

Five down after 18 holes of play, the smooth-swinging Filipino shotmaker took advantage of benign condition in early morning start, rattling off four birdies at the back where he started, including three straight from No. 16.

He made it four in row with another birdie on the first hole, added two more from No. 3 then closed out his round with back-to-back birdies to negate his lone bogey, his second straight, on the tough par-4 No. 5.

But with his opening round of 67, Pagunsan pooled a 13-under 131 total, putting himself in title contention in the $1 million tournament serving as the kickoff leg of the Japan PGA Tour, where he is based, and the One Asia Tour.

Park and Tokimatsu matched Pagunsan’s 64  as they shared a one-stroke over Japanese Michio Matsumura, who shot a bogey-free five-under 67 for a 132.

Aussie Rhein Gibson eagled the 18th for a solid 65, moving to fourth at 134 while Korean Song Young-han and Yoshikazu Haku stood at 135 after a pair of six-under 66s.

It was an impressive 36-hole performance for Pagunsan, who reigned as the region’s No. 1 after topping the Order of Merit ranking in 2011 without winning a leg on the circuit but made four top 10 finishes, including a runner-up effort in the rich Singapore Open where he lost in a playoff to Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

Pagunsan is actually eyeing a second win on the highly-rated Jack Nicklaus-designed course after blasting a final round seven-under 65 for a winning total of 19-under-par 269 to rule the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational in 2007, his maiden professional victory.

After ramming in a birdie on the 10th, Pagunsan failed to drop another in the next five holes, including on the par-5 No. 13, until he birdied the 16th and the next three holes, sustaining his charge to storm infront of the 152-player field.