Jay Bayron shot a second straight three-under 69 in blazing heat to tie the equally steady Himmat Rai of India for the lead halfway through the ICTSI-Philippine Open championship at the  Wack Wack East Course yesterday.

A closing bogey on No. 18 spoiled what could’ve been a flawless round for the soft-spoken Filipino bet, who flashed superb shotmaking and iron game to fire  four birdies inside five feet and find himself  co-leader at 138.

“Winning on the Asian Tour is my dream,” said Bayron, who nearly holed out with  an eagle on the par-4 15th for a tap-in birdie. The 32-year-old Davaoeño is on a  rare stint on the Asian, opting instead to campaign on the ASEAN Tour where he  turned in three runner-up finishes last year.

But with the Open making a comeback to the Asian circuit after a two-year hiatus, Bayron said he’s happy to be among those chasing the prestigious title,  adding: “Hopefully, I can win and put my name on the trophy.”

Rai, however, will try to frustrate him as the 24-year-old Indian likewise lined himself up for an Asian Tour breakthrough with a 70, actually dropping to a  share of the lead with Bayron after dropping a shot on the par-3 16th.

“I’m extremely happy with what I shot (today). It was hot out there and the wind  picked up a bit in the afternoon,” said Rai, who also shared the lead with Thai  Thanyakon Khrongpha with 68 in an eventful first round Thursday suspended due to  darkness.

The duo took a one-shot lead over Australian Berry Henson, Jbe Kruger of South  Africa and Japanese Daisuke Kataoka, who had 70, 68 and 69, respectively, for  139s while Panuphol Pittayarat stood at 140 after a 69 and former champion Wang  Ter-chang hung on with a 72 for a 141, ensuring a shootout in the last 36 holes  of the event serving as the seventh leg of the Asian Tour.

Tony Lascuna matched par 72 and safely made it through with a 144 while Marvin  Dumandan stumbled with a 75 after a 69 for a 145, the same output put in by  Rufino Bayron, who rallied with a 69 and Gene Bondoc, who had a 74.

Angelo Que struggled off the tee and carded a second straight 73 for a  146 in a  tie with Ferdie Aunzo and Michael Bibat, who bounced back with identical 70s,  while Elmer Salvador, winner of the other all-peso Phl Open title in 2009 at  Malarayat, had a 74 for a 147.

While the other fancied local bets wavered in another challenging day and headed  for an early exit, Juvic Pagunsan rebounded from a so-so 73 with a 69, wheeling  back into the fight for the top $47,500 purse in the four-day championship  featuring no fewer the 25 winners on the region’s lucrative circuit.

Pagunsan actually blew a running four-under card with a bogey on No. 16 but the  smooth-swinging Filipino shotmaker, the Asian Tour top rookie in 2007, stood  well within striking distance at 142, jumping from a share of 47th to joint ninth.

Other two-under par scorers were Lucas Lee of Brazil, who fired an eagle-aided  70, Baek Seuk-hyun of Korea (69), Peter Karmis of South Africa (73), Mars Pucay  (73), Digvijay Singh of India (72) and Thai Prom Meesawat (72), who is coming  off a victory in last week’s Asean Tour in Malaysia.

Five former Open champions, including last year’s winner at Valley, Artemio  Murakami, missed the cut pegged at 148, four-over, with two time-winner Frankie  Minoza and Antonio Asistio II barely making it with a pair of even par 72s after  identical 76s.

Murakami, who had said earlier that Wack Wack is tougher, ran out of holes and  came in with a 74, finishing with a 150 to join the likes of Gerald Rosales,  winner in 2000, who had a 77-149, 1990 champion Robert Pactolerin, who had an  82-155 and Cassius Casas, who won in 2001, also made an 82 for a 163.

Miguel Tabuena, the celebrated 16-year-old find who showed a lot of promise in  finishing fourth last year at Valley and turning in a top 25 finish in the Asian  Tour Qualifying School, found the challenge too tough and fell short with a 74  and a 152.

Among the noted foreign casualties were 1993 champion Yeh Chang-ting of Taiwan,  who had a 151 after a 77, and last year’s Asian Tour top rookie Rikard Karlberg,  who had a 75-149 and Malaysian Danny Chia, runner-up to Que in 2008 here, who  had a 149 after a 78.

The event is presented by the world’s leading port operator International  Container Terminal Services, Inc coming in as title sponsor.

The other backers  of the tournament, held under the auspices of the National Golf Association, are  San Miguel Corp., Globe Telecom, Lexus, HSBC, Splash Corporation and Ayala Land  Premier with Srixon, Ricoh, BlackBerry, Inetol, Motorola, Label 5 and Crowne  Plaza Manila Galleria as supporters.