SPORTS

2 eagles, birdie spree lift Rates to 4-shot lead

JOENARD Rates produced a rare twoeagle feat in a round in varying fashions and spiked a fiery seven-under 65 with a three birdie-binge from No. 12 to seize a four-stroke lead over Jhonnel Ababa and young Korean Rho Hyun Ho at the start of the ICTSI Villamor Philippine Masters at the Villamor Golf Club yesterday.

He actually missed tying the course record set by Vic Santia in the late 1990s with a flubbed downhill putt from 12 feet on the par-5 18th but his brilliant 34-31 highlighted by eagles on the par-5 No. 8 and on the par-4 15th in sweltering heat proved enough to net him a big cushion in pursuit of a first Philippine Golf Tour crown since 2018.