Filipino golfer Reymon Jaraula. Pilipinas Golf/Handout.
MANILA -- Reymon Jaraula powered to the lead in the ICTSI Valley Golf Challenge, with a rare two-eagle feat giving him a 66 in the second round in Antipolo on Wednesday.
He powered past erstwhile joint leaders Ira Alido and Angelo Que, but had to endure a two-hour wait before formally claiming a two-stroke lead over Alido midway through the competition.
Lightning just past noon forced the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. to suspend play, minutes after Jaraula had turned in a near-flawless 32-34 card marked by eagles on Nos. 7 and 17.
Alido ended the day on a strong note, recovering from bogeys on Nos. 2 and 4 with birdies in the next two holes to get into seven-under overall. But Que fell with a thud with bogeys on Nos. 4 and 6 before play was stopped.
Seven flights ahead, Jaraula had assembled a nine-under 135 largely behind a sterling round he laced with three birdies that buried a lone mishap on No. 18 and despite dealing with his putting stroke early on.
"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," said Jaraula in Filipino.
Alido did knock a third straight birdie at the resumption of play but gave up the stroke on the par-3 No. 8 and finished with a 69 for a 137.
"It was a long wait and I lost my momentum from that point but it was still a good round," said Alido, who turned in a solid four-under card Tuesday. "I made a lot of birdies today (yesterday) but also made too many mistakes."
Those included bogeys at the front that halted a four-birdie, one-bogey charge from No. 10 although he racked up three straight birdies from No. 5 to re-ignited another run before dropping a stroke on the eighth.
"I wasn't really worried about it," said Alido of his miscues. "I knew that I could make up for it and make a couple of birdies down the stretch."
Korean Chon Koo Kang missed closing in on Jaraula with two bogeys in the last four holes as he ended up with a 71 for joint third at 140 with Tony Lascuna, who put in a second straight 70, while Que, who had an even-par card with three holes to play, holed out with a bogey on the ninth and slipped farther back to joint fifth at 141 after a 73.
Joining him at three-under overall are Zanieboy Gialon, who matched par 72, and Korean Min Seong Kim, who fired a 69, and Japanese Atsushi Ueda, who blew a three-under card with a double-bogey on No. 15 and wrapped up his round with three straight pars for a 71.
Justin Quiban actually grabbed the overall lead before Alido, Que and the rest had teed off as he birdied Nos. 11 and 12 to go five-under overall.
But he yielded it just as quickly with a double-bogey on No. 15 and bogeys in the next two. He battled back with birdies on Nos. 3 and 7 against a bogey on the sixth but dropped strokes in the last two for a 75 and a 144 for joint 19th with Albin Engino, who limped with a 74.
Forty two players made the cut at 150, including Carlos Packing (74), Korean Hwan Lee (75), Francis Morilla (76), Gerald Rosales (78) and Dino Villanueva (79), but Marvin Dumandan (75), Rolando Marabe Jr. (75), Sean Ramos (76), Elee Bisera (77) and Ferdie Aunzo (78) missed it by one.