Closing eagle lifts Uyking to two-shot lead

Johanna Uyking holed out for a rare eagle on the 18th to cap off a roller-coaster round five-over-par 77 on Wednesday and grab the lead in the girls’ 13-14 division of the USwing Mojing Junior World Qualifying at The Country Club (TCC).

Despite struggling in the demanding windy conditions, Uyking leaned on her exceptional driving before holing a 3-wood from 190 yards for an eagle 2, which proved to be the marginal strokes over Precious Zaragosa, who settled for a 79 after a late stumble.

“I drove the ball pretty straight, which helped a lot,” said the 13-year-old Uyking, a student at Davao Christian High School.

Batican sets pace

Uyking’s round was far from perfect over a TCC layout that demands a lot. She signed for six bogeys and a double bogey on the tight par-4 fourth. She birdied the eighth.

Zaragosa, last year’s Junior Philippine Golf Tour Match Play champion, also managed an eagle on the par-5 eighth but struggled with four bogeys in her first five holes at the front.

The boys’ competition was just as intense with Ralph Batican also firing a 77 to for a three-stroke lead over David Teves in the three-day event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

In the boys’ 15-18 division, Emilio Hernandez emerged as the early frontrunner, firing a 75 to secure a two-shot lead over Patrick Tambalque. Shinichi Suzuki and Jose Carlos Taruc stayed close with 78s, while Cliff Nuñeza, Tristan Padilla and Geoffrey Tan matched 79s.