Malaysian Hiew grabs PH Am lead by 1 shot

Malaysian teener Alvin Hiew held sway on a very difficult day yesterday, shooting a second straight one-under-par 71 to take a one-shot lead over Jobim Carlos after 36 holes of the Philippine Amateur Stroke Play championship.

The Aoki layout of the Eagle Ridge in Gen. Trias in Cavite was a tough nut to crack as most of the big guns struggled, with overnight leader Rupert Zaragosa draining just one birdie on the way to a 76.

Carlos, who is chasing a first national championship before turning pro later this year, muffed a chance to grab a piece of the lead at 142 with a closing bogey and a 73.

Zaragosa, who drained seven birdies on Tuesday on the way to a 68, found himself two strokes off the pace after a sputtering finish where he dropped four strokes in his first four holes, including a double bogey on No. 3.

Like Zaragosa, Hiew also started in the back nine and salvaged his under-par effort with a birdie on the par-5 seventh which proved to be the marginal shot on Carlos.

Singapore’s Marc Ong also carded a 71 to be at 145 while Aidric Chan carded a 74 for a 148.

Unknown Raymond Gonzales was a stroke back at 149 after a 73 as club bet Dan Cruz ballooned to a 77 for 150 like defending champion LJ Go, who followed up an opening 77 with a 73.

“I need to work on my game around the green. I can’t hit the sweet spot on my chips,” said the 21-year-old Carlos, a scholar of the MVP Sports Foundation at University of San Francisco, California.

Meanwhile, Samantha Bruce fired a 73 and also took a piece of the women’s lead with Korean Hwang Min-jeong at 148. Hwang struggled with a 78.

Felicia Medalla, the first round leader, fell a shot off the pace after a 78 as the women’s field showed the lack of talent after members of the rock-solid ICTSI team—the usual representatives of the country overseas—were not admitted into the tournament.