SINGAPORE—Antonio Lascuña remained in the thick of the chase in the $1.5-million The Championship at Laguna National Friday, shooting a 3-under-par 69 to trail by six strokes Thailand’s Panuphol Pittayarat after two rounds at Laguna National Golf and Country Club here.
With his opening 68, the in-form Lascuña posted a 36-hole total of 137, good for a tie for 24th place along with nine others going into the last two days of the event jointly sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours.
Lascuña, running 16th in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, gunned down four birdies against a lone bogey to stay in contention for another rich payday after finishing well in Malaysia and Indonesia the last two weeks.
Angelo Que, who started with a 75, rallied with a 68 but missed the halfway cut by a stroke with a 143 total. Elmer Salvador also failed to make it to the weekend play at 148.
Meanwhile, Juvic Pagunsan made it to the last two rounds of Japan Tour’s The Crown championship in Nagoya by tying for 53rd place at 143 on rounds of 72-71.
Michio Matsumura of Japan and Korea’s Kim Hyung-sung shared the lead at 131.
Panuphol did not wilt under the tropical heat and continued to take the lead after signing for a four-under-par 68 in The Championship.
The Thai stayed ahead of the pack with his 13-under-par 131 even as Australia’s Scott Hend, Korean-American David Lipsky and Chile’s Felipe Aguilar shared second place, just one shot behind.