JUVIC Pagunsan survived a rollercoaster round to submit a two-under 69 to stand three strokes off the lead in the first round of the Japan Golf Tour’s Kansai Open on Thursday in Shiga.
Hwang Jung-Gon of Korea looked set to take the day’s top honors but a final-hole birdie gave Daisuke Kataoka of Japan a share of the lead at 5-under 66.
Pagunsan, the Filipino golfer who once topped the yearend money list on the Asian Tour, had six birdies but also suffered four bogeys at the Meishin Yokaichi Country Club.
The shotmaker from Bacolod started with back-to-back bogeys, but quick quickly fell back to even with consecutive bogeys.
Pagunsan then went birdie-bogey-birdie in the next holes to stand one-under at the turn.
It was a little quieter on the back nine for Pagunsan, making two birdies and a three-putt bogey on No. 17 to finish the round at two under.
Angelo Que, another Asian Tour veteran, was a stroke further back. He had a much more subdued outing with a birdie and a bogey on the front nine before moving to one under with birdie on the par-3 No. 12.
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