Cebu, Philippines: Defending champion Elmer Salvador of the Philippines shot a second round of four-under-par 68 to move atop the halfway leaderboard at the Aboitiz Invitational on Thursday.
The 43-year-old, who opened his campaign with a 67, fired an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys to lead the US$65,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event with his two-day total of nine-under-par 135 at the Cebu Country Club.
England’s Ian Keenan, who returned with the day’s lowest score of 67, trailed the Filipino by two shots in second place while another local hope Anthony Fernando and Park Il-hwan of Korea stayed a further shot back on 138 after rounds of 70 and 68 respectively.
Overnight leader Brian Locke of the United States carded a disappointing 73 to slip down the leaderboard to share fifth place with Australian Darren Tan and Filipino duo Angelo Que and Carl Santos-Ocampo on 139.
Salvador, who triumphed at the Cebu course last year, was delighted with his commanding performance despite dropping consecutive bogeys on his back nine on 12th and 13th. But he finished strongly with birdies on 16th and 17th.
“I’m very happy with how I played today. It’s getting really exciting. I had a pretty good round although I made two bogeys. Luckily I managed to redeem myself with birdies on the 16th and 17th holes after that,” said Salvador.
“I’m looking forward to the next two rounds. I really hope to defend my title,” added the Filipino.
Keenan, who is currently 27th on the ADT Order of Merit, hopes to make his maiden trip to Cebu a memorable one by securing his first ADT title. He carded six birdies against one bogey to move into contention.
“I hit the ball really well and I never really got into trouble out there. The fairways were quite wet but I held it very well. I have to continue playing like how I’ve been playing these two days and I guess I’ll be safe,” said the Englishman.
Fernando credited his recent run on the domestic circuit for putting him in position to pounce over the next two rounds.
“I had a solid round. I gave myself a lot of opportunities. I made two bogeys and a couple of birdies. The course was wet and muddy and it was actually quite difficult to play. In general, I think I’ve putted well and I’m happy with how I played,” said Fernando, who mixed his card with four birdies and two bogeys.
“I played four straight tournaments last month. I guess that kind of built up my confidence and put me in a good shape. I will continue to work hard and hopefully, I can produce some good results,” added the 30-year-old Filipino.
American James Bowen, last week’s winner at the Jakarta Classic and currently leading the ADT Order of Merit list, missed the cut by one shot while reigning ADT Order of Merit winner, Jay Bayron of the Philippines is seven shots off the leader.
The halfway cut was set at four-over-par 148 with 56 players advancing into the final two rounds.
Created along the lines of the European Challenge Tour and Web.com Tour in the United States, the ADT will reward the top-three players on the final Order of Merit with Asian Tour cards for the following year.
All ADT events also receive Official World Golf Ranking points, which will be used to determine the field for the World Cup of Golf in Melbourne in November and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The winner of the Aboitiz Invitational will receive a total of six world ranking points while the top six players and ties will earn points based on a sliding scale.
Leading second round scores:
135 – Elmer SALVADOR (PHI) 67 68
137 – Ian KEENAN (ENG) 70 67
138 – PARK Il-hwan (KOR) 70 68, Anthony FERNANDO (PHI) 68 70
139 – Carl SANTOS-OCAMPO (PHI) 71 68, Angelo QUE (PHI) 70 69, Brian LOCKE (USA) 66 73, Darren TAN (AUS) 68 71
140 – Roberto BERNIS Jr. (PHI) 71 69, Peter RICHARDSON (ENG) 71 69
141 – Malcolm KOKOCINSKI (SWE) 69 72, Guido VAN DER VALK (NED) 69 72, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 72 69
142 – Jhonnel ABABA (PHI) 72 70, Rufina BAYRON (PHI) 72 70, Jay BAYRON (PHI) 69 73, Charles HONG (PHI) 73 69, Anthony SMITH (AUS) 71 71, Mars PUCAY (PHI) 68 74
