Art Arbole used a hot front nine to carve out a three-under-par 67 and grab a one-shot lead over Jonel Ababa halfway through the P2.5 million ICTSI Negros Occidental Classic as the journeyman pro who traces his roots to Bukidnon is in prime position for a long-awaited maiden victory.
‘This is the first time that I have held the lead after two rounds,’ Arbole said in Filipino as he seeks to end a 14-year wait for a first pro title by taking a 132 aggregate into the pivotal third round at the tree-lined layout formerly known as Marapara.
‘I just hope that my game continues to come together. I just need to stay focused day after day,’ he continued as he leads the dangerous Ababa by a shot and a duo of former leg winners in Jeff Lumbo and Guido van der Valk, who both fired 67s, by three.
Bacolod native Albin Engino shot a 68 and wheeled into contention, just four shots off, even as ‘three-peat’-seeking Rupert Zaragosa cooled down by matching par 70 to be six behind and needing a big third round to matter on the final day.
Zaragosa has the chance to become the first player in the Philippine Golf Tour to win a stop three straight years, but bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18 slowed him down. He had a total of four bogeys in the second round.
The pint-sized Davao native has former PH Open champion Clyde Mondilla, Russell Bautista, Randy Garalde and Josh Jorge as company at 138, with Mondilla firing a second round 68 built on a front side 31.
Jorge shot a 71, Bautista a 70 and Garalde a second straight 69 as their group is a shot ahead of a three-man pack that includes Reymon Jaraula, who fired a 68.
Ababa, meanwhile, missed keeping in pace with Arbole after a bogey on the 18th for the second straight day. He shot a 68.
‘Marapara’s back nine is really tough,’ said Ababa, a former Order of Merit winner who is still grieving the loss of his wife earlier this year, in Filipino. ‘I missed so many greens on the back nine.’
Lumbo, chasing a second PGT title after ruling the South Pacific stop in Davao last year, erased the bitter memory of a triple-bogey 8 on No. 18 on Monday that marred an otherwise impressive 68, as his second round effort featured a string of four straight birdies from No. 4.
Van der Valk is likewise looking to snap a lengthy title drought.