Micah Shin stayed on attack mode on the course he calls home, churning out an eagle-spiked four-under-par 68 to widen his lead over Clyde Mondilla to four halfway through the P2.5-million ICTSI Apo Golf Classic in Davao, where Chanelle Avaricio and Seo Yun-kim of South Korea are locked in a tight battle for the ladies’ crown.
The 29-year-old Shin, a Korean-American who spent his childhood years honing his game at the tree-lined layout, actually played his final 13 holes starting from No. 15 at five-under as he held off Mondilla to take a 134 aggregate into the third round on Thursday.
‘Today was actually worse than yesterday, but I got some lucky breaks and made some really good par saves,’ said Shin, who eagled the par-5 18th, even as Mondilla, the champion last week at nearby South Pacific, signed for a 69 to keep his back-to-back bid alive.
Sean Ramos also submitted a 69 to be five off the pace, with Tae Soo-kim of Korea and unheralded Jeremy Tandoy firing 70s for 140s as they make up the upper half of the 12 players remaining to be under-par at the halfway mark over one of the toughest courses in the land.
Meanwhile, Avaricio, the defending champion, scrambled to save a 72 and keep a share of the lead, this time with Kim, who fired a second straight 71 for 142.
The final round of the P1.25-million ladies event will be played Thursday with Harmie Constantino, who dropped out of a share of the lead with Avaricio after firing a 74, and Princess Superal, who gutted out a 71, down by two shots.
Daniella Uy remained mathematically in the hunt after shooting a 72 to stay four behind, with Yvon Bisera and Sarah Ababa, proud daughters of Apo Golf, within six shots of the lead after a 73 and 72, respectively.
After hitting 15 greens in an efficient second-round effort, Kim will be rewarded by playing in the final flight ranged against the seasoned Avaricio, who won last week at South Pacific.