SAN PEDRO, Laguna - Bucking an unfortunate opening double bogey on a rainy Tuesday, Antonio Lascuna bounced back in the back nine to rescue a level-par 72 that was still enough to pad his overnight lead to six, but over a new pursuer in Mars Pucay, after 36 holes in the centerpiece 50-59 (Senior) division of the Stronghold Insurance Senior Open at Hallow Ridge Filipinas.
The 54-year-old Lascuna drained three of his five birdies inside his last six holes to take a 36-hole 140 aggregate into the final round of the trailblazing multi-round senior event put up by Stronghold Insurance president Romulo delos Reyes Jr. to give the country's senior pros something big to play for.
Pucay makes move
Pucay was the lone player to crack par with a 71, overtaking Rico Depilo (75) and Rey Pagunsan (73) at second to be another shot back, even as Pactolerin, the Philippine Open champion in 1990, returned a 74 on a rain-drenched day to take a 149 aggregate into the final day of the 60-69 (Super Senior) class.
Doming Umadhay remained in second, but now seven shots behind Pactolerin, after firing a 79, with Japan's Tanaka Kosuke shooting a 78 to be in third, 10 shots behind the grizzled leader.
"It was good that I was able to recover," Lascuna, the only five-time winner of the PGT's Order of Merit, said in Filipino after ending his round in a scorching way despite losing his ball in his first approach when it inadvertently found a drainage and they couldn't find his ball near the green.
Conditions were brutal to say the least, as a strong downpour made Hallow Ridge play longer with swirling winds buffering the tree-lined layout formerly known as TAT Filipinas.
"It's all part of the game," Lascuna said. "Good that it (misfortune) happened early, because I still had time to recover. Still, there are 18 holes left to play and anything can still happen in a course as tough as this."
Meanwhile, the 18-hole Legends division for players aged 70-and-above will be played Wednesday, with the legendary Caloy Nival, now 86 years old, taking part in a 12-strong field.
"We had a real tough day out there," said Pactolerin, who had four bogeys against two birdies in a 37-37 effort as he wheeled into prime contention for another victory in close to a decade when he reigned supreme in his hometown in Bacolod in the PGT.
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