Cebuana Junia Louise Gabasa kicked off her bid for a repeat title with a two-over 74 to lead the ladies division at the start of the 36-hole stroke play elimination round in the third MVPSF Visayas Regional Match Play Championship at the Cebu Country Club in Banilad yesterday.
Gabasa, who is coming off a second place finish in the Philippine Junior Amateur Golf Championship in Cavite, has very little room for error with Angela Mangana nipping at her heels with a 75 and her elder sister, Irina Gabasa, in third with a 76.
They were followed by Nicole Fleetwood (76), Grace Quintanilla (81), Riko Nagai (82), Weifang Gao (92), Jhana Abella (93), Wilma Fantonial (95) and Ashley Llena (99).
Over on the men’s side, highly touted Cebuano golfer Lloyd Jefferson Go is within striking distance of leader Carl Corpus as he shot an even-par 72 to stay two strokes behind the latter, who had an opening two-under 70 to get the lead.
In an exclusive talk after the round, Go admitted he wasn’t able to have his way with the par 5 holes.
“I just wasn’t able to take advantage of the Par 5s today. I made two birdies and two bogeys,” said the standout from Seton Hall University in the NCAA Division 1.
Go said he is banking on his familiarity with the course to hopefully, overhaul the deficit in the coming round.
“Pretty sure, being a member in CCC will give me a slight edge, because I know the bounces and the read on the greens. But I still think CCC is a fair course to play, it’s anybody’s game during match play,” said Go.