FUMBLING with a bogey-marred frontside finish that enabled two strong rivals to close in, Joenard Rates kept his cool in tepid conditions and birdied the last two holes to rescue a 71 but barely held on to a one-stroke lead over a fast-charging Guido van der Valk halfway through the ICTSI Villamor Philippine Masters at the Villamor Golf Club yesterday.
That he did it while trying to withstand the pressure to deliver in the face of Van der Valk and Keanu Jahns’ strong charges in separate flights spoke well of the caliber of the player who pounded the flat but tricky layout with a 65 Wednesday but had appeared to have cracked with three bogeys in the first five holes at the front after a backside 34 start.
Although short in length, the 5-foot-3 Rates never ran out of brilliance and fighting spirit, coming through with a couple of clutch shots that set up birdie putts on Nos. 8 and 9 as he salvaged a one-under card for a 36-hole total of eight-under 136.
“I hit errant drives and had a couple of mishits at the front,” said Rates, who went nine-under overall with birdies on Nos. 14 and 17 but yielded strokes on Nos. 2, 3 and 5 to enable Van der Valk and Jahns to close in with their respective low rounds.
