Australia’s Travis Smyth carded a three-under-par 69, while South Koreans Jeunghun Wang and Wooyoung Cho posted matching 70s to forge a four-way tie for the lead with first-round pacesetter Sarut Vongchaisit of Thailand after the second round of the Asian Tour’s Philippine Golf Championship presented by the Philippine Sports Commission on Friday at the East Course of Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City.
Smyth, Wang, Cho, and Vongchaisit—who followed up his opening-round 68 with a 71—are all knotted at five-under 139 after two rounds in the season-opening leg of the Asian Tour. It marks the second straight year that the Philippines is hosting the first event of the professional circuit.
A former Asian Tour champion in 2022, Smyth briefly seized solo control when he reached four-under through 11 holes before draining an eagle putt on the par-5 14th. His second shot, struck with a 4-iron, settled just seven feet from the pin, allowing him to convert the eagle and momentarily move ahead of Wang, Cho, and Vongchaisit.
However, the lead was short-lived.
The daunting par-3 17th once again proved troublesome for Smyth, who closed with a bogey—his second straight round with a dropped shot on the hole.
“Found the fairway off the tee, then my second shot—with a 4-iron—landed on the green, just seven feet from the hole. That was the best second shot in my life. Made an eagle putt,” said Smyth, who also birdied Nos. 2, 4, and 11, and bogeyed No. 8. “So 17 is arguably one of the hardest par 3s ever if you miss the green and I hit it in the worst spot possible, which was left. So I was in the bunker, downslope, green’s massively raised. I was trying to actually hit it over the green on the other side because there was no way I could hold that green. But it was so elevated that I couldn’t even get it up on top.
“I missed it left, sort of rolled back down, and then I hit an amazing chip shot and almost made par. But it was a good 4 in the end,” he added.
Despite the late stumble, Smyth remained upbeat heading into the weekend of the tournament, which carries a total prize purse of US$500,000 from the Asian Tour and the National Golf Association of the Philippines, with US$90,000 going to the champion in the event backed by BingoPlus and the MVP Sports Foundation.
“My game today was good. Obviously, I shot under par, and having played this golf course Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I thought anything under par on this golf course is a good score,” Smyth said. “It’s not easy—it’s really tight, really firm at the moment, bouncy—so to shoot what I shot, three under in the end, it was a good day.”
Cho, who, like Wang, also opened with a 69 in the first round, credited patience and course management for his steady showing.
(C) Graham Uden / Asian TourTravis Smyth, Sarut Vongchaisit, Ian Snyman, Marcus Plunkett, Suteepat Prateeptienchai, Tomoyo Ikemura, Hung Chienyao, Shunyat Hak, Keanu Jahns, Brycen Ko, Fidel Concepcion, Carl Jano Corpus, Jhonnel Ababa, Rupert Zaragosa, Enrique Dimayuga, Angelo Que, Gerald Rosales, Clyde Mondilla, Tony Lascuna
“Today was a very, very tough day. I just tried no bogey, and every hole make the par. That’s why it makes my minus five today,” said Cho. “Yesterday, it was also… actually, it’s the first time I’ve played on the cow grass. Yeah, it’s so much different in Korea and in the U.S., so I just keep trying a safe area. Yeah, that’s why I make five on the par. Very firm and hard to contact. Very hard to control the distance in this golf course. I would say hole number 17 was tough, but I hit very well. I make birdie on 17. But I think the hardest shot is 17’s tee shot.
“Same plan, one and two rounds also. Same plan. This golf course, don’t have to hit the driver stronger. Every hole, keep the fairway is most important. And then, no make bogeys every hole. This is my plan,” he added.
Vongchaisit, meanwhile, mixed four birdies on Nos. 8, 11, 12, and 14 with bogeys on 3, 4, and 7 to stay atop the leaderboard.
“Front nine was not too good for me, but definitely a good comeback on the back nine, shooting three under on the back nine, so I’m definitely happy about it,” he said. “I just didn’t keep it in play in the front nine, just hit in the woods, which on this golf course you can’t do that.
“Yes, it’s my first time playing here, and we have a lot of golf courses kind of like this back home. So with the cow grass, I’m used to that chipping and hitting on fairway, so yeah, I’m kind of comfortable around the green,” he continued.
“Of course, just got to hit it in play off the tee—that’s the most important thing. Once you do that, it’ll be a lot easier. Keep it in play. That’s definitely the game plan.”
One stroke behind the leaders at four-under 140 are South Africa’s Ian Snyman and American Marcus Plunkett. Plunkett shot a second-round 70, while Snyman fired a 68—one of three rounds of four-under for the day—earning him a share of the US$10,000 daily prize with Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai and Japan’s Tomoyo Ikemura.
Tied for seventh and eighth at 141 are Hung Chien Yao of Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong’s Shunyat Hak. Filipino bets Keanu Jahns (71-71) and Brycen Ko (72-70) remain within striking distance at 142, three shots off the pace.
Five other Filipinos made the cut at four-over, including Fidel Concepcion and Carl Jano Corpus (144), tied from 18th to 30th; Jhonnel Ababa and Rupert Zaragosa (146), tied from 42nd to 52nd; and Enrique Dimayuga (148), tied for 65th.
Out of the 42 local golfers in the field, only seven advanced to the weekend.
Missing the cut after two rounds were former Philippine Open champions Angelo Que, Gerald Rosales, and Clyde Mondilla, along with Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit winner Tony Lascuna.
