Mizuno seeks to pull away at John Hay

BAGUIO, Philippines – Action in the premier Fil Championship of the San Miguel Fil-Am Men’s Invitational golf tournament shifts to the Camp John Hay Golf Club here today with Mizuno vowing to pour it all out in the third round in a bid to avoid going through a pressure-packed finish.

“We have to shoot big numbers and pad our lead. As much as possible we would like to cruise in the last day,” said King Stehmeier, skipper of the Mizuno Superstars, who seized control after two days at the nearby Baguio Country Club with a 242 aggregate from rounds of 123 and 119 Molave points.

That was seven points ahead of Team Sparta, which assumed the challenger’s role at 235 after last year’s winner Forest Hills sputtered in the second day at BCC with a paltry 103 output after putting in an impressive 122 start for a 225.

But a shootout looms in the final 36 holes of the annual event backed by title sponsor San Miguel Corp. and presented by Toyota with Team Sparta and Forest Hills both tipped to dish out their best to gain ground on Mizuno and make the final round a wide-open battle.

Stehmeier, who shot two 30s at BCC, hopes to draw the best from brother Ace Stehmeier, Justin Limjap, Raymund Sangil and Rodel Mangulabnan as they brace for the expected charge by Team Sparta, particularly former pro Tonton Asistio, who leads the individual race with 66 points.

Other players to watch for Sparta are Erwin Temena, Rading Decepida, Thirdy Escano and Alex Ignacio while Forest Hills seeks to come up with a strong finishing kick behind Gabriel Atienza, Raffy Garcia, Ronald Littaua, Miguel Garcia and Peter Young.

In Am Championship, the Batangas Barakos, led by Jun Arceo and Gerald Katigbak, also try to pull away from the Mizuno Superstars, Northwoods Pacsports and Che’lus I with a 227 aggregate from rounds of 117 and 110 at John Hay although anything can happen at the tougher BCC layout.