Salvador now five ahead after a 68

TAGAYTAY—Bucking a cold start, Elmer Salvador caught fire in a five-hole stretch bridging his two nines Thursday to shoot a four-under-par 68 and zoom to a five-shot lead over Rufino Bayron after 36 holes of the P1.5 million ICTSI Splendido Classic here.

Starting off on No. 10 and going two-over after his first three holes, the 43-year-old former Philippine Open champion gunned down five straight birdies from the 16th to post a two-round total of 11-under-par 133  at the ravine-filled Splendido course.

“I had a bad start, but those birdies calmed me the rest of the round,” said Salvador in Filipino after chalking up seven birdies  a day after resetting the course record with an opening 65.

Bayron, whose only win in the circuit came when he was still an amateur at Valley in 2008, matched Salvador’s 68 and stood at 138, with Clyde Mondilla shooting a 69 to catch the veteran Antonio Lascuna at 140.

Lascuna, who matched par 72, said that the field must make up a lot of ground on Salvador today if they want to entertain hopes of catching him in the final round tomorrow.

Frankie Minoza failed to sustain the momentum of an opening 68, shooting a 73 to be eight shots adrift in the company of Ferdie Aunzo and Charles Hong, who fired a 69 and 71, respectively, and Japan’s Toru Nakajima, who scored an ace on the third hole that highlighted his 68.

The event is sponsored by International Container Terminal Services and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and backed by Nike Golf, Custom Clubmakers, Titleist, Cleveland, Pacsports, Srixon, Callaway, Sharp and FootJoy with Balls TV and ABS-CBN Sports+Action as media partners.

Malcolm Kokoconski of Sweden, one of a handful of foreign bets seeing action here, fired a 72 for 143 like Rey Pagunsan, who shot a 68 and Paul Echavez, who also had a 72.

Elmer Saban’s reign as champion ended abruptly after a second straight 75 left him a shot off the halfway cut. Also failing to advance was Jonel Ababa, a survivor at the Solaire Open last week, who tallied 151 after a 76.

Guido Van Der Valk, the Dutchman who was second to Salvador when he won the Open at Malarayat in 2009, was also a 36-hole casualty after a 75 gave him a 152 tally.

Miguel Tabuena, who tied with Mondilla at seventh as the best Filipino finishers at The Country Club in the Solaire Open, fired a 75 and was practically out of it all at 147 and  14 shots behind.

Other big guns who faced a huge uphill climb include Mars Pucay, who fired a 70 for 145, and Carl Santos-Ocampo, whose 76 left him in the company of Tabuena.