Two eagles lift Jaraula to Valley lead

Reymon Jaraula sustained his fine play, gunning down two eagles in a six-under-par 66 on Wednesday to seize a two-stroke lead over Ira Alido halfway through the P2 million ICTSI Valley Golf Challenge at the demanding South course in Antipolo.

The Del Monte native finished before lightning halted play for more than two hours in the afternoon, taking a 135 aggregate into the money rounds as Angelo Que, the multiple Asian Tour leg winner who started the day tied with Alido for the lead, returned a 73 to now be six behind.

Alido was able to steady himself in the back nine with three of his seven birdies even as South Korea’s Chon Koo-kang fired a 71 and Antonio Lascuña a 70 for 140s, with Zanie Boy Gialon matching par to be in Que’s group together with two others.

“I struggled with my putting early on and missed some putts. Although I recovered on some holes, I also failed to sink a couple of putts from short range,” Jaraula, speaking in Filipino, said after signing for a bogey 4 on 18, just his second of the week.

Jaraula, who finished fourth at Caliraya a few weeks ago, eagled the par-5 17th after setting up a 15-foot putt with a 3-wood from 246 yards. His second eagle came on No. 7 from 12 feet.

A total of 18 players are still under par as 42 players made the cut pegged at 150.