Lascuña, Ababa one off Munson

SILANG, Cavite—Antonio Lascuña pressed his bid for a breakthrough win on the Asian Development Tour by hanging on to second place yesterday, just a stroke behind new leader Brett Munson of the United States after two rounds of the $100,000 Aboitiz Invitational at Riviera’s Couples course here.

Lascuña, the reigning back-to-back ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit champion, shot a 3-under-par 69 to go with his opening 66 for a 36-hole total of 135 like first-round co-leader Jhonnel Ababa, who carded a 70 after a 65 in the lightning-delayed second round.

The two Filipinos stood right behind Munson, who rallied with a 66 after a 68 and swept on top at 134.

Munson, running second in this year’s ADT Order of Merit, tied for second in the Ciputra Golfpreneur in Jakarta last week after grabbing the lead in the third round.

The celebrated Angelo Que, who matched Ababa’s 65 in the first round, cooled off with a 71 but remained a solid title threat at 136, two shots behind Munson in the tournament sponsored by Aboitiz and co-staged by ADT and the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour.

Mars Pucay and Miguel Tabuena also stayed in contention even as defending champion Elmer Salvador barely survived the halfway cut and the venerable Frankie Miñoza failed to make it to the last two rounds on a course where he won the Philippine Open in 1998.

Pucay was just four strokes off Munson at 138 with rounds of 69-69 while Tabuena, the top Filipino in the ADT Order of Merit at No. 15, stood at 139 (68-71).

Munson went on a birdie binge and hit an eagle on the par-4 16th before bogeying the last two holes.

“Yeah, the holes had seemed bigger to me,” Munson said in describing the string of birdies that gave him a six-under 30 at the turn.

Scotland’s James Byrne rebounded from a 75 with a bogey-free eight-under 64 in winter rules, boosting last week’s ADT winner in Jakarta from joint 80th to a share of eighth with Tabuena, and pro-am tournament winner Casey O’Toole of the US, who matched par 72.

Salvador virtually kissed his bid for a record “three-peat” goodbye at 145 after a 77.

Miñoza could only turn in a 71 after a disastrous 77 Wednesday for 148 and missed the cut by two.

Meanwhile, Aboitiz Equity Ventures CEO Erramon Aboitiz cited the Aboitiz Invitational emergence as one of the premier tournaments on the Asian Development Tour.

This year’s prize money nearly doubled to $100,000, making it one of the major events on the ADT calendar.

“We are proud of how the Aboitiz Invitational continues to gain stature as a significant leg on the ADT,” said Aboitiz.