DAVAO CITY. – Nilo Salahog held sway in the face of fiery assaults from a band of pursuers then hit a clutch birdie to save a 68 Wednesday and rejoin Justin Quiban at the helm midway through the ICTSI South Pacific Classic heading to a wild finish here.
Salahog, who showed up the Tour’s big guns with a superb 67 in stifling conditions last Tuesday, kept his mastery of the South Pacific course and the stellar field with a four-birdie run in the first 12 holes then rebounded from a miscue on No. 13 that momentarily dropped him off the lead with a birdie on the 17th as he tied an equally red-hot Quiban at the helm at nine-under 135.
Quiban put in a solid 67 after a 68 in his steady pursuit of a second Philippine Golf Tour victory following a third-place finish at Del Monte last week ruined by a last-hole slip and he liked the way he’d been churning out low rounds coming off a series of stints abroad.
“I wasn’t expecting to lead but with the way I’m playing, I feel like I’m confident. I think I could hit the rounds that I’d like to shoot,” said Quiban, who first won in Binitin, Negros Occidental in 2018 then nailed a victory in PGT Asia at Luisita in the same year.
Salahog, chasing his maiden triumph on the Tour put up by ICTSI, also kept pounding the fairways with his booming drives, accurate iron play and putting but braced for a sterner test in the last 36 holes of the P2 million championship supported by Kampfortis Golf, the official apparel of the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
“Driving, irons at putting, lahat magaganda,” said Salahog, whose last birdie came after he holed out with a pitch-in eagle on the par-4 penultimate hole in the first round.
“Yes, may pressure kasi maraming magagaling dito,” he added.
To overcome it, he stressed the need to stay focused and apply what he’s been training and practicing the last few months as he slugs it out with the seasoned Asian Tour campaigners in the pivotal round Thursday.
A host of others likewise jostled for position in anticipation of a heated third round battle of power and hits, with Marvin Dumandan seizing solo third at 137 after shooting an eagle-aided 68 and Iloilo leg runaway winner Rupert Zaragosa also bouncing back with a four-under card for a 138.
Tony Lascuña, who beat Ira Alido by three here to cap a three-victory run in 2019 before the pandemic, also wheeled back into contention with his own version of a 68 for 139 while fellow Davao bet Elee Bisera also shot a four-under card to move to solo sixth at 140.
