Angelo Que battled fierce winds that swept through the ICTSI Pradera Verde Championship at the Pinatubo course in Lubao, Pampanga, on Tuesday to hack out a 71 and preserve his three-stroke lead over Carl Corpus and Keanu Jahns midway through the P2.5 million tournament.
Despite a scorching start at the back nine, Que faced stiff mid-morning gusts, battling through back-to-back bogeys at No. 1 to save a 39-32 and hold onto the lead with a five-under 139 aggregate.
The three-time Asian Tour winner extended his overnight lead to five or six early in the round, riding on a three-birdie spree on Nos. 10, 16, and 17.
But as the wind intensified, the course became increasingly difficult, forcing Que to scramble through a tough frontside finish.
He bogeyed Nos. 1 and 2 but regained his composure with a steady run of pars to stay at the helm of the kickoff leg of the 10-stage circuit.
“It was really windy, much stronger than the first round, and the pin positions were a lot tougher,” said Que, winner of the Philippine Masters last year.
“Unfortunately, I stumbled with bogeys on the first two holes of the front nine. We had a long wait, but that’s no excuse—I just mishit a chip on the first hole and missed a short putt on the next. But under par is still a good score.”
The blustery conditions enabled challengers to close the gap, though Corpus and Jahns managed only matching one-under 71s for the second consecutive day, settling at 142 for a share of second place.
Corpus, who placed runner-up in last week’s Philippine Golf Tour Q-School, handled the swirling winds well, recovering from an early bogey and double bogey with three birdies and an eagle before a late stumble.
Jahns also stayed in contention, grinding out a four-birdie, three-bogey round to remain on track of another victory after dominating the Forest Hills leg last year.
Aidric Chan also turned in a 71 to force a tie at fourth at 146 with former Q-School topnotcher Toru Nakajima (74) and this year’s low medalist Jaehyun Jung (75), with Guido van der Valk (73) closely behind at 147.
The post Que survives strong winds to keep lead at ICTSI Pradera field first appeared on Fastbreak.
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