Two foreign aces top PH Jr Am qualifying

SINGAPOREAN national player Marc Ong fired a 7-under-par 65 yesterday and caught Japan’s Yuto Katsuragawa for top spot after the classification phase of the Philippine Junior amateur match play championship at  Orchard in Cavite.

Ong and Katsuragawa will play off today before the start of match play hostilities to determine the No. 1 seed that will take on the lightest possible foe in the Round of 32.

Justin Quiban, a member of the national pool, shot a 67 and shared third spot at 143 with Singapore’s Joshua Ho, who scored a 69.

Harmie Constantino, the champion in the stroke play event last week at Sherwood Hills, sustained her fine form and grabbed No. 1 spot in girl’s play after closing out with a 76 for 143 in the 36-hole classification.

She plays Filipino-American Carlia Canto, the 16th seed who fired an 89 for 171, in the first round.

Nikki Bruce was second after a 74 for 148, earning a clash with 15th ranked Annika Guangko, even as Hwang Ming-jeong of Korean, who had a 151 total after a second round 73, was third and will battle Andrea Pineda.

Pineda wound up as the 14th seed after an 86 for 168.  Musong R. Castillo