STA. ROSA, Laguna – Guido Van der Valk stumbled at the finish but still held on to a two-stroke lead over a charging Clyde Mondilla after a two-over par 74 halfway through The Country Club Invitational at the TCC course on Thursday.
Bucking the heat and wind that devevilled the afternoon flights for the second straight day, the Dutchman hit four birdies against two bogeys and threatened to pull away from the field with a two-under card through 13 holes.
But just when he thought he had the Tom Weiskoph-designed course all figured out, it bit back and led to four bogeys over his last five holes.
From six shots up in one stretch, Van der Valk saw his lead cut down to two.
At one-over 145, he faces pressure from Clyde Mondilla who shot a 70 and moved well within sight of another TCC triumph following his breakthrough Solaire Philippine Open victory in this same course last year.
“Bad finish,” rued the 40-year-old Van der Valk. “But here at TCC, if you sort of start making a few bogeys, it’s so easy to keep on making them because there is not a single easy hole on this course. But making four bogeys in the last five is a shame.”
Mondilla fought back strong from a harrowing 77 start. He birdied two of the first four holes, yielded a stroke on No. 5 then went on a birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie roll to start the last nine holes, muffing a couple of birdie chances along the way.
“My ball-striking was quite okay and I hit all greens. But I struggled with my putting and missed a lot of chances,” said Mondilla, who headed straight to the practice green to polish his stroke as he steps up his drive for a crack at another major crown in this event put up by ICTSI president/chairman Ricky Razon in 2003 to honor the memory of his father and ICTSI founder Don Pocholo, himself an avid golfer.
Former champion Tony Lascuña, multi-titled Jay Bayron and young Rupert Zaragosa all pooled 148s after matching 73s while erstwhile second-running Ira Alido likewise stayed in contention at 150 after a 76 marred by two closing bogeys.
The diminutive Zaragosa eagled No. 10 and birdied the 13th to offset a bogey on the first and earned a shot at the lead with one-over overall card. But he dropped three straight strokes from No. 14 and ended up with a 73.
Unheralded Albin Engino, who opened with a 76, birdied three of the first six holes in impressive fashion but made a triple-bogey on the par-4 No. 7 then bogeyed three of the next nine before drilling a birdie on No. 17 to save a 74 and tie Alido at sixth.
Despite assembling identical 151s, Jhonnel Ababa (72), Michael Bibat (73) and Reymon Jaraula (73) still got a shot at the top P1.5 million purse in this kickoff leg of the 2020 Philippine Golf Tour, given the course conditions and where each hole varies in character in every swirl of the wind.
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