Bernice Olivarez-Ilas birdied the last hole to save a 71 and broke away from a tight pack with a three-stroke lead even as Josh Jorge stormed ahead with a 72 in men’s play after two rounds of the NGAP Northern Luzon Regional Golf Championship at the Beverly Place Golf Club in Pampanga yesterday.

Tied with Kim Seo Yun after 18 holes with 69s, Ilas took solo control with a gutsy even par 34 going out then checked a shaky backside stint with two birdies in the last five to salvage an even par card at the par-71 bunker laden layout that continued to bedevil the games of the Elite amateur field.
With a 140 aggregate, Ilas built a three-stroke cushion over Kim, who fumbled with an opening 37 for a 74 and 143, while Laurea Duque failed to sustain a hot 32 start with a wobbly finish of 39 for a 71 and a 144 in the event serving as part of the PLDT Group’s National Amateur Golf Tour organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

That moved Ilas 18 holes away from duplicating her feat here in 2016 where she humbled some of country’s top pros in the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

Jorge, one shot behind erstwhile joint leaders Sean Ramos and Jet Hernandez, leaned on a steady frontside game of 34 then emerged on top in an error-filled backside battle among the contenders, his closing 38 and a 72 putting him on top of the heap at 147, now two shots up on Ramos, who fumbled early with a 37 and matched Jorge’s 38 for a 75 and a 149.

Hernandez kept Jorge at bay with a frontside but lost grip of the lead with a double bogey-riddled 42, dropping to third at 150 after a 76 while Masaichi Otake also made a 76 for a 151 in the tournament backed by the MVP Sports Foundation, Cignal, Metro Pacific and hosted by Beverly Place Golf Club.

Francis Lanuza and Miguel Olivarez-Ilas also put in a pair of 34s but succumbed to the demanding backside and hobbled with 40 and 41, finishing with 74 and 75 for 158 and 162, respectively.

Back in women’s play, Kim actually kept in step with Ilas after eight holes but dropped three strokes on the par-4 No. 7. She hit three birdies at the back but made a double bogey and a bogey to drop three shots behind.

Duque, who started the round four strokes off the joint leaders, closed within with back-to-back birdies from No. 6 but missed pulling within with a bogey and double bogey on Nos. 16 and 17, respectively.

Rianne Malixi stood too far behind at 153 after a 78 while Kristine Fleetwood limped with a 76 for a 154 and Weifang Gao pooled a 162 after an 82.

Meanwhile, August Cruz carded a 74 to open a three-shot lead over Lisandro Opulencia, who turned in a 77, while Bernardo Chang, Jr. shot a 79 in the 36-hole men’s division Group I.

Gary Manotoc, on the other hand, wrested control in Group II with an 83 for a two-stroke lead over Armando Lustre, who made an 85 with Boom Coscolluela at third with 87.