Chihiro Ikeda cracked par for the second straight round yesterday, firing a one-under-par 71 to wrest a one-shot lead over Jayvie Agojo going into today’s final 18 holes of the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Classic at the Couples course in Silang, Cavite.
Ikeda birdied the 15th and 16th holes to salvage a 36-hole 141 and move within another brilliant round of breaking through as a pro while keeping the charming Agojo winless on Philippine soil.
Agojo, who held a one-shot lead at the start of the day, fired a 73 for 142 and the duo will have to watch out for Korean expat, the amateur Min Jeong-hwang, who fired a 70 to be just two shots off the lead.
Seo Won-kwon, another Korean, was just five shots behind after shooting a similar 70, with the veteran Anya Tanpinco firing a 74 to catch Sarah Ababa at 148 after Ababa struggled to shoot a 76.
“We struggled because of the rains,” Ikeda, the former Philippine Team spearhead like Agojo, said.
The two birdies by Ikeda were set up by perfect iron shots to within four feet, and it made up for her double bogey 6 on the third hole that actually allowed Agojo to pad her lead to two.
But Agojo never got to figure out the greens made slower by the rains, going down with two three-putts.