LAUREL, Batangas. – Clyde Mondilla used a near-impeccable all-around game to card a nine-under 63 as he threatened to blow the stellar field with a huge seven-stroke lead over Tony Lascuña after 36 holes of the ICTSI Splendido Taal Championship here Wednesday.
An eagle-birdie backside start drove Mondilla past Miguel Tabuena and the former Philippine Open champion bucked a mishap on No. 12 with another birdie on the 17th to stay at the helm, then pulled away by ripping the frontside of the softened Splendido Taal Golf Club layout with six birdies for nines of 30-33.
“It was near-perfect,” Mondilla said as he described his round that also featured three straight birdies from No. 4 and two closing birdies.
Rupert Zaragosa’s 64 posted in the 2015 Splendido Classic, however, remains the course record since play in this week’s P2 million event put up by ICTSI is held under winter rules.
But the amiable Luisita-backed Del Monte ace isn’t after the marks, having posted a record of his own with a 64 in winning the ICTSI Calatagan Invitational in 2016. With a whopping 14-under 130 total, the 2019 Philippine Open winner at The Country Club moved two rounds away from pocketing the top purse of P360,000 in the third leg of this year’s Philippine Golf Tour.
But the big lead comes with a big pressure and Mondilla, who used a 2-iron off the mound and a seven-iron from 170 yards to eagle the 534-yard No. 10 from seven feet in one of the late flight, vowed to deliver with a stronger performance in the last two days.
“Actually, I feel the pressure more now that I’m in control. I would’ve preferred to be the one in pursuit,” said Mondilla, who marked his strong runner-up finishes at Luisita and Caliraya with final round rallies. “So I need to face the challenge and play better.”
