Pagunsan explodes with 64, ties for Mynavi ABC lead

MANILA, Philippines – Juvic Pagunsan fueled his bid for a second Japan Golf Tour victory in the season about to end as he sizzled with a solid eight-under 64 and locked himself in a fierce battle at the top with Mikumu Horikawa halfway through the Mynavi ABC Championship in Hyogo Prefecture Friday.

Taking up where he left off Thursday, Pagunsan birdied three of the first five holes at the front of the ABC Golf Club then gunned down five more in the last nine holes, capping his brilliant play with a birdie-birdie windup in another strong finish he hoped to sustain in the crucial third round Saturday.

While he hardly improved off the mound, hitting just seven fairways, one more than in the first round that led to a 67, Pagunsan’s excellent iron play and steady putting kept him in strong contention with a 13-under 131 aggregate in the Y120 million (P44 million) event serving as the fifth-to-last tournament in the JGT calendar.

But he will be in for a challenging weekend as Horikawa likewise goes into the swing round riding the crest of an incredible frontside finish. Starting on No. 10, the local ace, who also opened with a five-under card, made just one birdie on the 17th but came through with a binge that matched Pagunsan’s output for the second straight day.

After birdying the second hole, Horikawa strung up five more for a six-birdie roll then holed out with another birdie for a 29 and a 64.

Pagunsan, who tied for 55th in the Japan Open last month and finished at joint 43rd here last year, and Horikawa led Ohira Sato, who shot a 65 for a 132, by one while South African Shaun Norris sizzled with the tournament-best, bogey-free 11-under 61 marked by two eagles (Nos. 4 and 18) as he leap-frogged from joint 61st to a share of fourth at 133.

Filipino-American Justin delos Santos, for his part matched par 72 for a 141 and a share of 34th.

Pagunsan finished with 27 putts, one better than his previous showing, as he further underscored his readiness to go for another win after winning the Golf Partner Pro-Am Championship in Ibaraki last May.

The smooth-swinging Negrense, the former Asian Tour No. 1 and a multi-titled campaigner on the Philippine Golf Tour, nailed his JGT breakthrough in the Mizuno Open in 2021 in Okayama where he used just 11 clubs and played without a caddie in a pandemic-hit season.

At 45, he never loses his appetite for winning.

Coming off a birdie-birdie feat in a frontside finish Thursday, Pagunsan birdied No. 1 then gained strokes on Nos. 4 and 5 while missing a couple more chances in the next four holes. But he took another stroke on No. 10, scrambled for par on the next then birdied the par-3 No. 12.

After two pars, Pagunsan dominated the par-5 No. 15 to go six-under then closed out with back-to-back birdies, including a two-putt feat on the par-5 18th.

Pagunsan also hit eight birdies in the first round but fumbled with three bogeys but a near-impeccable stint on the ABC layout’s greens saved him two pars and preserved an unblemished card.