STA. ROSA, Laguna–Tawit Polthai of Thailand birdied his last two holes on Thursday to right the ship somewhat and barely cling on to the lead halfway through the $500,000 Solaire Philippine Open at The Country Club here.
The tournament’s most punishing day thus far yielded only one sub-par round, with Polthai shooting a four-over-par 76 to stay in the lead by a shot even as Juvic Pagunsan, the country’s brightest hope, went out in flames after shooting a career-worst 86.
The 23-year-old Polthai, who took a four-shot lead into the second round, dropped four shots in his first nine holes—the back nine where he started—and had four more bogeys in a six-hole stretch from No. 2 only to drain clutch birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 for a 143 aggregate heading into the money rounds starting Friday.
Another Thai, Namchok Tantipokhakul, was the only player who cracked par, shooting a 70, to bounce back from eight shots back at the start of the day to just two behind, a stroke ahead of the best-placed Filipinos, Keanu Jahns and Clyde Mondilla, and two more foreigners.
Jahns, who is half-German, returned a second straight 73, while Mondilla, who opened up with a 71 on Wednesday, shot a 75 and found themselves tied with Thailand’s Nirun Sae-Ueng and Peter Stojanovski of Macedonia at 146. The Thai shot a 73, while Stojanovski matched par.
“I played terribly bad,” Polthai said after the exclusive layout bared its fangs and left many tumbling by the wayside. “My putting and short game didn’t (work today) in stark contrast to my opening round. I just couldn’t do anything right out there.”
Pagunsan also couldn’t do anything right, opening up with an 11 on the par-5 10th before signing for two more doubles and five bogeys against a lone birdie that came on the par-4 4th.
“I played very, very good given the tough conditions. I was also just lucky to score a 70,” said Tantipokhakul.
James Ryan Lam shot a 70 to be the third local in the Top 10, just six off the lead, even as reigning PH Masters champion Jessie Balasabas also blew into contention with a 73 to be just eight shots adrift with still 36 holes left in Asia’s oldest national championship.