Ace, eagle power Song’s magical 60

CARMONA — South Korea’s Minhyuk Song unleashed a blistering assault on Manila Southwoods, flirted with golf’s elusive 59 and stormed to a four-shot lead as the 108th Philippine Open presented by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) headed into the weekend.

Song electrified the morning wave with a stunning 10-under-par 60, highlighted by an extraordinary stretch on the back nine featuring a pitch-in eagle and a hole-in-one. His 36-hole total of 130 put him four shots clear of Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut, while only a handful of Filipino bets survived the second-round carnage, led by Cebuano Lloyd Go.

“It just feels like so much has happened and I am still trying to process everything,” Song said through a translator. “I’m just trying to think of it as a really great day.”

His 60, however, will not count as a course record, with the field playing under lift-clean-and-place rules in the first two rounds. Thailand’s Danthai Boonma remains the record-holder after shooting a 62 in the third round last year.

Song’s charge gathered frightening momentum over the final five holes of his outward nine. He birdied the 14th after his approach clipped the pin and stopped near the cup, then picked up another stroke on the 15th. On the 16th, he pitched in for eagle before producing the round’s biggest highlight — an ace on the 189-yard 17th. He capped the remarkable run with another birdie on the par-5 18th, completing a seven-under stretch in just five holes.

That blistering finish left him with a back-nine 28. He added four more birdies on the way home, putting a sub-60 round within reach before his birdie attempt on the picturesque ninth came up short.

“After that, I just went with the flow and kept playing,” Song said.

Asked why he did not attack the final birdie putt more aggressively, Song said he was wary of leaving himself with a difficult second putt.

“I was worried about potentially three-putting,” he said. “I decided it was better to just get it close and make sure of the two putts.”

While Song made the course look easy, the afternoon wave faced a far sterner test as swirling winds sent several fancied contenders scrambling.

Go emerged as the best-placed Filipino after grinding out a two-under 68 for a 138 total. He opened with a 33 but found the closing stretch more difficult, needing a long, curling birdie putt on the 17th to finish two-under and keep local hopes alive heading into the weekend.

“I like the way I’ve been playing over the past two days. I’ll just keep doing that and try to drop more putts,” said Go who is trying to keep his Asian Tour card.

Justin Quiban was one stroke behind Go after matching par, although he once again endured a roller-coaster round. He needed two birdies over his final five holes to salvage an even-par card and stay within mathematical reach of a breakthrough Philippine Open title. He enters the third round tied with first-round leader Nick Voke and eight others.

Voke, meanwhile, endured a difficult afternoon after opening with the lead. The New Zealander struggled to a 74 and fell nine shots behind Song.

Sean Ramos also strengthened the local challenge, firing a three-under 67 to reach 141. The 22-year-old, who won in Egypt last month, remains within striking distance with two rounds to play.

Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert and pony-tailed Australian Travis Smyth, who occupy the top two spots in the Order of Merit race, took contrasting routes to identical 141 totals. Tangkamolprasert carded a 73, while Smyth returned a 68.

The other Filipinos who survived the cut were Carl Jano Corpus (71-141), Jeffren Lumbo (72-144), Tony Lascuna 144 (76-68), Kristoffer Arevalo 144 (72-72) and Reymon Jaraula 144 (71-73).