Manila Southwoods flaunts strength, overtakes Forest Hills by 4 shots

BAGUIO CITY—Manila Southwoods buckled down to serious work on Wednesday and amassed 155 points, turning a seven-point deficit into a four-point lead over Forest Hills heading into the final two rounds of centerpiece Fil Championship division play of the 68th Department of Tourism Fil Am Invitational.

Paolo Wong churned out a second straight four-under-par 65 worth 40 points and Southwoods counted three other subpar cards in an overwhelming display of firepower to tally a 36-hole 301 points before taking a much-needed breather Thursday.

Tom Kim and Aidric Chan carded 39s, with Carl Corpus shooting 37 and the defending champions were so efficient that they discarded the 28 of veteran Jun Jun Plana.

“We’re very happy with the way we played today and we made up a lot of ground,” non-playing skipper Jerome Delariarte said.

Forest Hills could only come up with a level 144, as first round star Jude Eustaquio struggled to post just 33 points. Rocky Co led Forest Hills this time with 39 with Marc Lu shooting 37 and Dan Cruz firing 35 for their two-round 297.

Inigo Raymundo failed to count with 32 even as Royal Northwoods zoomed into contention after getting 36 points from ex-pro Raymund Sangil in a second day 140 for 271.

Mizuno X1R slipped to fourth at 264 despite getting 40 points from King Stehmeier.

Baguio Country Club, that tiny yet demanding layout, will be the site of the final two rounds where scores are expected to soar somewhat with length not being the premium.
Chepe Dulay, meanwhile, shot a two-over-par 63 worth 34 points at Baguio Country Club and led Southwoods to a second day 230 and a 15-point lead over Team Razon’s in the Am Division. Kristoffer Arevalo and Lanz Uy shot 29s and Jama Reyes 27 for Southwoods’ total.