Castro leads Carlos by 1; Superal paces ladies play

Luis Castro. Photo from INQUIRER GOLF

Unheralded Luis Castro picked up shots on three of his last five holes yesterday to shoot a two-under-par 70 and emerge as the surprise leader after the first round of the 21st W Express RVF Cup Amateur golf championship at the challenging Canlubang North course in Laguna.

Castro highlighted his 36-34 effort over the tree-lined, windswept layout with that big finish to overtake the fancied Jobim Carlos for top spot, even as Princess Superal matched par to take the women’s division lead by two over Harmie Constantino.

Carlos, the pro-bound reigning two-time national champion who will try to lead the Canlubang Sugar Barons to a triumphant return in the PAL Interclub later this month, mixed three birdies against two bogeys for his 71.

Carl Corpus and Japan’s Yuto Katsuragawa shot 72s with national pool member Justin Quiban and young Carlo Villaroman assembling 73s to be solidly in the mix.

Jelbert Gamolo, the Del Monte spearhead in the Interclub, fired a 74 spiked with a hole-in-one to remain on course for his first big individual win. Gamolo aced the 172-yard fourth hole with a 6-iron. It was the second ace of his career.

Superal, The Country Club’s top campaigner who is chasing a seventh straight title dating back to last year, assembled nines of 35-37 to keep the in-form Constantino, the reigning national stroke play champion, at bay.

Filipino-Japanese Yuka Saso shot a 75 with Bernice Olivares-Ilas shooting a 76 and Nicole Abelar firing a 77.

The event, being held in honor of the late golf patron Rod V. Feliciano, is backed by MVP Sports Foundation as part of the PLDT Amateur Tour, Smart and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Musong R. Castillo