TARLAC – Micah Shin stormed ahead of a crowded leaderboard with a solid five-under 67, wresting a one-stroke lead over four others, including an equally charging Tony Lascuña, in a sweltering day of torrid scoring halfway through the ICTSI Luisita Championship here yesterday.
Redisplaying the form that netted him a breakthrough win on the Philippine Golf Tour here last September, the 20-year-old Shin bucked a late tee-off at the backside of the Luisita Golf and Country Club, rattled off three birdies inside 10 feet then closed out with two more at the front to cap a 34-33 round that shoved him past Americans Brett Munson and John Michael O’Toole, South African Mathiam Keyser and Lascuña, with a 136 aggregate.
“I played terribly good. It was an amazing round,” said Shin, the Davao-based Korean-American who spiked his maiden win by beating Lascuña by two for the 2016 CAT (Central Azucarera de Tarlac) Open.
O’Toole earlier put on a blistering windup up at the front and shot a two-under 70 to force three-way tie at 137 with Munson, who also carded a 70 after a 67, and Keyser, who slowed down with a 71 after a 66 with two three-putts, until Shin birdied No. 8 and moved from solo fifth to the top of the heap at eight-under overall.
The race for the top $10,500 purse continues in the event backed by BDO, KZG, Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, Sharp, Champion, Summit Mineral Water and PLDT.