Delos Santos stays in Open race, but Pagunsan falls

MANILA, Philippines – Justin delos Santos bolstered his bid for a second straight British Open stint despite a 70 as he improved to joint seventh in the Mizuno Open, eight shots behind Kazuki Yasumori halfway through the Y80 million tournament at the JFE Setonaikai Golf Club in Okayama Prefecture in Japan Friday.

But Juvic Pagunsan, winner of last week’s Golf Partner Pro-Am tournament in Ibaraki who also ruled this event in 2021 for his first Japan Golf Tour triumph, missed the cut by one with a 71 for a 144.

Pagunsan, 45, came out of the pack as one of the favorites following his second JGT win but faltered with an opening 73 at the par-72 course and failed to recover big in the second round.

He did rally with three birdies in the last nine holes but his bogey-marred backside 38 proved too tough a challenge to overcome as he wound up with an even-par total for a share of 71st.

Only the Top 58 and ties advanced to the 72-hole championship which stakes slots to the Open, one of the world’s four majors, on July 20-23 at the Royal Liverpool in England to the top 4 players this week.

But delos Santos stayed on course for another Open campaign after placing 74th last year following a fourth place finish in the Mizuno Open.

But at joint seventh at 138, the Fil-American will have a lot of rallying to do in the last 36 holes to finish among the Top 4 with a host of others likewise all primed for a fierce battle in the next two days.

Delos Santos, a California Polytechnic State University product, also struggled with a two-birdie, two-bogey card at the back but birdied the first two holes at the front to save a 34-36 round.

He also leaned on his putting to get into the mix, ending up with 27 putts as he made up for his struggle off the mound that saw him hit just six fairways in the day.

Yasumori, meanwhile, stayed on top with a 130 after a 67, three shots clear of Kosuke Suzuki and Keita Nakajima, who fired a 65 and 66, respectively, for 133s, while Takumi Kanaya stood at solo fourth at 135 after a 64.