CAVINTI, Laguna – Carl Corpus upstaged veteran Angelo Que at the ICTSI Caliraya Springs Championship on Wednesday, showing admirable resolve and composure in the closing stretch to shoot a 69 and wrest solo control in the race for the Philippine Golf Tour crown here.
Steadying himself after a roller-coaster front nine, Corpus fired two birdies in his last nine holes for a gutsy 35-34 card under darkening skies, edging past Que and the rest of the field with a nine-under 135 aggregate.
The young gun’s gritty stand further validated his breakout triumph on the Asian Development Tour in Morocco last June. Though far from flawless, Corpus’ ability to grind, stay in the moment, and trust his process has moved him closer to a maiden PGT victory.
Que falters coming in
“I struck the ball better yesterday (Tuesday),” said Corpus, whose impressive opening 66 earned him a share of the Day 1 lead with Que. “I prepared and executed the same way today, but I had a few errant shots and less solid executions.”
As Corpus firmed up his title bid, Que faltered in the end. A mishit drive and an overshot approach on the 18th led to a bogey and a second-round 70, pushing the seasoned campaigner down to joint second at 136.
“I hit it better today than yesterday but putted worse,” rued Que. “I know I still shot two-under but it could’ve easily gone very low. I just missed a lot of putts.”
The three-time Asian Tour champion, however, remained upbeat: “But it is what it is. Hopefully I can sort out the putting tomorrow.”
Tied with Que are Jhonnel Ababa and Korean Ji Sung Cheon, who both delivered strong rounds to get into the title mix. Ababa, a former Order of Merit winner, rebounded from an early slip to card an eagle-spiked 67. He rediscovered his putting touch and knocked in birdies on Nos. 6, 10, 15 and 18.
Cheon, just 19, flashed both precision and power in a superb 66 anchored on an eagle, also on the 12th, where he crushed a hybrid second shot from 228 yards and rolled in a monster 35-foot putt. He offset a three-putt bogey on No. 5 with five birdies and flawless play the rest of the way.
A slew of contenders lurk just one or two shots back – ready to pounce on any slip-ups and turn the P2.5 million championship organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. into a wild finish.
Bunched-up PGT leaderboard
Four players are tied at fifth with 137s, led by young Kristoffer Arevalo, veterans Keanu Jahns, Rupert Zaragosa and Fidel Concepcion. Arevalo surged with a solid 32 on the back nine but lost steam late for a 69. Jahns made his move with a 67 built on an eagle and five birdies. Zaragosa submitted a bogey-free 68, while Concepcion was poised for a clean sheet in two days before bogeying his last hole for a 69.
Veteran Jay Bayron also kept himself in the conversation with a 70 for 138, while Aidric Chan, fresh off sparking the Philippines’ historic ADT double in Morocco, rallied with a 68 to seize solo 10th at 139.
Forty-five players advanced to the final 36 holes, with five making the cut at one-over 145, including Art Arbole (69), Gabriel Manotoc (72), Luigi Wong (73), Gerald Rosales (73) and Korean Tae Won Ha (74).
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