Carlos-Padilla hangs on to slim lead

MANILA, Philippines — Jobim Carlos and DJ Padilla barely survived in another windy day at Splendido Taal Golf Club, banking on a late birdie to save a 74 and cling to a one-stroke lead over Jelbert Gamolo and Rupert Zaragosa after two rounds of the Delimondo National Pro-am yesterday.

The Gamolo-Zaragosa pair actually closed out with back-to-back birdies from No. 12 to finish with a 73 and tie for the lead at 144 but the Carlos-Padilla tandem birdied the par-3 sixth then parred its last hole on No. 7 for that two-over card and a one-under 143 aggregate, regaining the lead heading to the final 18 holes of the P2 million championship sponsored by Delimondo.

But Jet Mathay and amateur partner Alex Etter made it a three-way battle for the top P360,000 (pro) purse as they bucked the tough greens and matched Carlos and Padilla’s opening round’s 69 to pull within two at 145 in the alternate-shot format event.

“We expect it to be tough and we’re happy to stay on top,” said Carlos, who also edged closer to scoring a breakthrough in a young pro career.

Jhonnel Ababa and Korean partner Jaemin Koo combined for a second 74 but fell five strokes behind Carlos-Padilla with a 148.