Carlos gets lead; Juvic lurks

BACOLOD — Jobim Carlos and Kim Joo Hyung took their familiar 1-2 spots in the pivotal third round of the ICTSI Negros Occidental Classic with identical two-under 68s but found a rival one wouldn’t wish to engage in a final round shootout right at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club.

Juvic Pagunsan finally found his groove, range and touch at the Marapara layout he calls home, rattling off six birdies at the front that spiked his day-best 65 and put him back in the thick of things after a pair of mediocre rounds of 69-70 in the 13.5-million tournament put up by ICTSI.

Carlos, seeking a third crown in two months, also used a strong start of four birdies in the first eight holes to cushion the impact of his faltering finish (three bogeys in the last seven) as he grabbed the lead with a sevenunder 203, just one ahead of Kim, whose bogey-free 68 and a 204 kept the 16-year-old find on course for a second crown after edging Carlos in the Pueblo de Oro Championship last month.

“I was happy to have walked away with the lead, given the tough backnine,” said Carlos, who quickly tied halfway leader Zanieboy Gialon with three straight birdies from No. 2. “It was a good thing I got off to a rousing start. Otherwise, I would’ve struggled all day.”

But looming large is Pagunsan, who missed joining Carlos at the helm with a second straight bogey on the par-3 13th, settling for joint second with Kim but earning a coveted spot in the championship flight and in the hunt for the top 1650,000 purse in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.