CANLUBANG – Juvic Pagunsan birdied No. 17 to fire a one-under 69 and catch amateur Jayvie Agojo in the lead as Elmer Salvador slipped with a final-hole bogey halfway through The Country Club Invitational at the TCC layout here yesterday.

The elite field battled through harsh playing condition for the second straight day with the wind blowing from all over early morning till the last flight of Salvador, Ferdie Aunzo and Joenard Rates came in. But Salvador, who surged ahead with a fiery 32 at the front, wavered coming home with bogeys on Nos. 15 and 18 and fell out of the lead despite a 69.

Pagunsan, who signed in a flight ahead with Carl Santos-Ocampo and Orlan Sumcad, salvaged a par on the tough finishing hole, sealing a closing 34 and a 69 for a 36-hole aggregate of 139.

But the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion and local tour’s No. 1 player refused to be interviewed and stormed out the tent house at the posh TCC compound and into the putting green.

He earlier flubbed a 12-footer for birdie and wound up with a bogey instead on the long par-4 No. 8 then threw the ball in disgust. But he settled down in time even after dropping another stroke on No. 11, making two birdies in the last six holes to put himself in a very familiar place.

Agojo, who showed up the men of the tour with a 69 Thursday, reeled back with a 36 after nine holes. But the reigning Hong Kong Am Open champion and spearhead of the ICTSI ladies golf team rebounded with a birdie on No. 12 and came through with gutsy pars the rest of the way to save a 70 for the other 139.

Salvador, who had a 71 in the opener of the P4.5 million event put up by ICTSI chair and CEO Ricky Razon, was awesome in the early going, coming through with back-to-back birdies from No. 2 and ramming in another birdie on No. 7. But he stumbled as the wind whipped up even more at the back, dropping a stroke on No. 15 and losing another shot on the 18th.

He had a 140, one stroke off the joint leaders heading to the weekend play where condition is expected to get a little bit tougher and the fancied bets tipped to make their moves to fuel their respective bids for the top P1.4 million purse.