Yuto Katsuragawa, a long-hitting 16-year-old, gunned down five birdies on the way to a four-under-par 68 and a four-stroke lead after the halfway point of the 21st W Express RVF Cup Amateur Golf Championship yesterday.
The reigning club champion of nearby Manila Southwoods, the Japanese made full use of his enormous length by birdieing all but one of the four par-5s of the tree-lined North layout of Canlubang in Laguna to tally 140 and lead Luis Castro and Justin Quiban.
Castro, the first round leader, tumbled with a 74, while Quiban, who will spearhead Southwoods in the PAL Interclub later this month together with Katsuragawa, shot a 72.
Jobim Carlos, the pro-bound former University of San Francisco mainstay in the US NCAA, limped home with a 75 and fell six shots off the pace after starting the day just a stroke off Castro.
Carlos, who will anchor Canlubang’s return to the premier division of the Interclub in Pampanga, couldn’t recover from a front side 39.
Princess Superal, meanwhile, built a six-shot lead in ladies play after firing a 71 for 143, with young Bernice Olivares-Ilas the new pursuer after a 73 and a 149 total.
Harmie Constantino, the reigning national stroke play champion, couldn’t keep up with Superal, returning a 76 to be at 150.
Filipino-Japanese Yuka Saso wound up another two shots back at 152 after a 77. Musong R. Castillo