Juvic Pagunsan drops to 4th spot

SINGAPORE—Juvic Pagunsan dropped to fourth place when the second round was completed Saturday, but the Filipino ace found himself in a great position to secure a big payday after organizers of the $600,000 Barclays Singapore Open reduced the tournament to a 54-hole affair.

Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, who was tied with Pagunsan at 10 under when second-round play was suspended due to darkness Friday, went on to shoot a 10-under-par 61 to grab the lead at 15-under 127.

Fernandez-Castano opened up a three-shot lead over Italian Ryder Cup star Edoardo Molinari and England’s James Morrison, who carded matching 68s.

Pagunsan, who had matching 66s in the first two rounds, trailed Molinari and Morrison by two shots as the top Asian in the field.

The third round started at 11 a.m. at the Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course before poor weather rolled in to force the suspension of play just before noon.

After a five-hour wait, officials called off play for the day and announced the tournament would be reduced to a three-round affair.

With a top prize of $1 million, a mad scramble is expected in Sunday’s final round among the 36-hole survivors that include Filipinos Elmer Salvador, Angelo Que and Jay Bayron, all at 3-under.

Much is expected of Pagunsan, who came into the tournament after placing in a two-way tie for ninth place in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters last week.

The second placer will receive $666,660 with a 15th place result still worth a hefty purse of $90,000.
Sweet-swinging Pagunsan, who did not hit a single shot today, feels he still has a chance to stage an upset despite having only one round to catch the leader.

“We still have a chance,” said the Asian Tour regular. “I’ll try to make a charge tomorrow. I’ll keep to the same strategy which is to hit fairways and greens. If I’m lucky, I’ll hole some putts.”