STA. Rosa, Laguna – Micah Shin mounted a stirring backside charge to turn what had threatened to become a wild second-round survival test into a three-stroke lead on Wednesday as he moved within 36 holes of a second The Country Club Invitational title.
As the rest of the field wilted under the full force of TCC’s notorious winds, Shin stood his ground. After going one-over through 11 holes, he struck back with a clutch run of three birdies over four holes from No. 12, then shrugged off a late bogey to post the day’s lone under-par round of 71.
READ Guido van der Valk shoots 67 in ideal conditions, seizes TCC lead
That gritty effort lifted him to two-under 142, three shots clear of a stacked group of proven contenders capable of mounting their own charge as the ₱6.5-million championship goes to its final two rounds.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to lead,” said Shin. “It’s pretty windy out there. I drove well, although my short game and putting were a bit off. But I hung in there.”
He could have stretched his lead to four shots, but a three-putt bogey on the 17th stalled the momentum. Still, a scrambling par on the treacherous No. 18 kept him firmly in control.
Shin's second straight one-under card was more than enough to put him back on course for a second title, eight years after edging Miguel Tabuena by one in 2018.
First-round leader and two-time champion Guido van der Valk bore the brunt of the course’s fightback. The Dutchman closed with four bogeys over his last six holes, capping a round derailed by a bogey-double bogey-bogey skid from No. 5. He followed his opening 67 with a 78.
Still, van der Valk remained very much in the hunt, slipping only to second at 145 alongside a formidable cast that includes Tabuena, Clyde Mondilla and Korean Jaehyun Jung.
Tabuena bogeyed three of his first six holes. But the top-ranked Filipino showed his trademark resolve, stopping the slide with a birdie on No. 8 and closing with a 38 to salvage a 73.
Mondilla, who opened with a 68, also struggled as conditions worsened. A double bogey on the par-4 fifth led to a birdie-less 40 on the front nine. Though he birdied No. 12, bogeys on Nos. 11 and 14 sent him to a 77 – still within striking distance.
Jung, meanwhile, carded a 74 after a gritty 71 in the opening round and emerged as the wildcard among the four closest pursuers.
Carl Corpus, who shone with a 69 on Day 1, endured a harsh reality check. He bogeyed three of his first four holes and compounded the damage with a double bogey on No. 6. A front-nine 41 stalled his momentum, and despite a steadier 37 on the back, a 78 dropped him to joint sixth at 147 with Aidric Chan, who fired a 74.
Three-time champion Angelo Que also faltered, carding a 76 to slip to 149 alongside Sean Ramos, who struggled to a 77. Keanu Jahns mounted a late rally with three birdies from No. 12, only to unravel with a bogey on 16 and a water-logged triple bogey on 17, finishing with a 78 and sliding to joint 10th at 151 with Nilo Salahog, who posted a 76.
With two-time champion Frankie Miñoza withdrawing due to illness, the field was reduced to 29. Still, danger lurks everywhere on the leaderboard. Proven winners and hungry challengers remain well within reach – and at The Country Club, no lead is ever safe and no deficit truly insurmountable.
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