Paolo Barro stormed into the lead by five despite a 74 while Kayla Nocum fired a 69 to move past Junia Gabasa halfway through the Philippine Junior Amateur Open Golf Championships at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Trece Martires, Cavite yesterday.
Barro moved from second to the top at 147 heading to the final 36 holes of the Albatross division (15-18) of the third leg of this year’s PLDT Group National Amateur Tour.
Sean Ramos shot a 75 for second spot at 152 while Aidric Chan and Carl Corpus moved to joint third with 153s after a 75 (36-39) and 77 (40-37), respectively.
Paolo Wong, who had a 72 Tuesday, limped home with a 42 for an 81, tying Chan and Corpus.
Josh Jorge also shot a 75 but lay nine strokes behind at 156.
Nocum, on the other hand, shot a 69 to lead Gabasa by one in the girls’ side of the centerpiece division of the event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, PLDT Group, Cignal and Metro Pacific.
Gabasa wound up with a 73, slipping to second at 147 with Korean Kang da Yun and Maria Tee at 151 and 152 after a 74 and 77, respectively.
Meanwhile, Wiggam Tapdasan skied to an 85 but still stood way ahead in the Ace division (19-and-above) at 166 with Gerrard Park pooling a 181 after an 86.
Korean Kim Tae Soo shot a 79 and padded his lead to two at 157 in the Eagle category (12-14) with Miguel Ilas taking the challenger’s role at 159 after a 77 in a tie with Jet Hernandez, who turned in an 80.
Rianne Malixi likewise firmed up her lead in the girls’ category with a 78 and a 152, three strokes ahead of Eagle Ace Superal, who carded a 77 for a 155, while Arnie Taguines made a 79 for a 157 and Sam Dizon assembled a 159 after a 78.