Juvic Pagunsan off to a good start at the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open
Juvic Pagunsan carded a four-under par 67, in the opening round of the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open, to share the 11th spot on the leaderboard, on Thursday, September 20, 2012.
There were a total of 14 other players, who posted a four-under par score and joined him on the leaderboard.
Analysts believe that it was a good performance by Pagunsan, considering the fact that the tournament is being played at the Higashi Hirono Golf Club, one of the toughest golf courses in Japan.
Despite getting off to a poor start with a bogey on the first hole, he managed to make a quick comeback with a birdie on the very next hole that he played.
Thereafter, he parred each of the next five holes, prior to adding another shot on the eighth hole.
The back nine of the course witnessed him play some better shots, as he carded four birdies against a lone bogey, to settle five strokes behind the leader Yuta Ikeda.
At the end of the round, he seemed satisfied with his performance. According to him, the course offered a strong challenge to the participants and it was really difficult to create birdie chances.
He stated that the key to success in Hyogo will be to hit the greens in regulations as much as one can. Otherwise, it will be really difficult for a player to get into contention for the top spot on the leaderboard.
“I’m happy to shoot what I did on this tough course,” he said. “If you miss the greens, it will be very difficult to hit your second shots. I’ve been hitting it good in the last couple of months so I hope I can continue the momentum”.
“I need to concentrate more on the greens in Japan. It is quite different compared to the courses we play on the Asian Tour. I thought I will miss the green on the 18th hole but reached in two which gave me an easy two-putt birdie,” he added.
He also admitted that it will be difficult to catch the leader. However, he can still chase him down if he keeps the momentum going into the remaining three rounds.
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