Aidric Chan moved halfway through clinching a coveted berth in the national team vying in this year’s SEA Games as he topped the SEA Games men’s team Stage I qualifier at the Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac yesterday.
The reigning national junior champion, who took charge of the crack field with a 68 Thursday, blew a 34 start with a floundering finish but his 72 still put him three strokes ahead of three others after the first of the two-phase elims that will select the three members of the Philippine team.
Counting his two 73s, Chan, who also won the National pro-am with Rey Pagunsan at Splendido last month, assembled a two-under 286 as he built some cushion over three bidders and nine others who survived the second cut heading to Stage 2 set June 10-13, also at the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed layout.
Carl Corpus birdied the first three holes at the back and fought back with a 70, Luis Castro fumbled with a bogey on the 17th and finished with a 71, and Sean Ramos also squandered a two-under frontside card with a closing 38, settling for a 72 as the troika stayed in the hunt with identical 289s.
But first day co-leader Gab Manotoc also got back into the thick of things after a 77 and 75 in the middle rounds with a second 69 for a four-day total of 290, just four strokes behind Chan, guaranteeing a fierce showdown in the next stage where the top three will make the Phl squad for the SEA Games slated Nov. 30-Dec. 10.
