Manila (Philippines), Oct 24 : Sarit Suwannarut kept the pedal to the metal, increasing his advantage on top of the leaderboard to four shots at the halfway stage of the US$22.22 million International Series Philippines, even as India's Gagamkeet Bhullar remained in the chasing pack and in contention for a top finish.

The two-time International Series winner added a six-under par 66 to his overnight 64 and reached 14-under par after 36 holes, four ahead of local hero Miguel Tabuena (65), who delighted his home fans with a stunning round that included a hole-in-one and an eagle in the space of three holes.

Joining Tabuena at 10-under was the in-form Japanese star Kazuki Higa (69). Another Japanese player, Yosuke Asaji (66), Korea's Soomin Lee (67), Chinese Taipei's Wang Wei-hsuan (67) and Hong Kong's Matthew Cheung (67) were tied fourth at nine-under, while New Zealand's Denzel Ieremia (67), American Patrick Reed (66) and India's Gaganjeet Bhullar (69) were tied eighth at 136, eight under.

Ajeetesh Sandhu is three shots further back on five under after a three-under 69, while Karandeep Khochhar made the cut on four under after a second successive 70, in a group with former world No.1 Dustin Johnson, who followed up his first round of 67 with a one-over 73.

England's Steve Lewton shot the lowest round of the tournament so far at the beautiful Sta. Elena Golf Club, a bogey-free 63 that made up for a disappointing two-over 74 in the opening round.

Sarit's first shot of the day, on the opening hole, ended up in the penalty area, but he managed to make a birdie from there. That just set the tone for the day as he raced ahead of the field.

'It helped a lot (the birdie on first). I mean, after I hit the tee shot, I didn't even know where it was. I asked Guna (caddie) where it was, and he said it was in the fairway. I didn't believe him. Luckily, I got a good lie and it was a good shot from about 50 yards, and the birdie helped to keep the momentum from yesterday,' said Sarit, who made only one bogey on each of the first two days.

"You just have to focus only on what you have to do, and hit your shot. I have been playing good golf for the past four weeks, so I know what I can do. 'I know my game well, and I've just tried to stay calm and focus on what I need to do. So far, it's been working nicely, and I hope to keep the momentum going over the next two days,' he said.

Golf fans in the Philippines turned up in huge numbers for the tournament, and they were rewarded as the home favourite Tabuena raised hopes of a Filipino champion. On the 171-yard 14th, Tabuena did not see his ball take a hop and disappear into the hole, but the eagle was perfectly planned.

'It's not every day you make a hole-in-one, but I was glad I kept it together after that. There's a lot of golf to be played, but it was nice. It's probably been six years since my last one and only second in a competition. It was nice that it was here in front of friends, family, and in my home club,' said the three-time winner on the Asian Tour, who had to pull out of the SJM Macao Open with a neck spasm.

Tabuena was joined on the weekend by veteran Angelo Que, who carded a superb seven-under round to sit in T4 on nine under, with Justin Quiban on six under after an impressive 68.

International Series Philippines is the sixth of nine elevated events on the Asian Tour this season, which offers a pathway onto LIV Golf through a season-long Rankings race. The tournament runs until 26 October and is the first in a three-week run that includes the Link Hong Kong Open and the Moutai Singapore Open in successive weeks.

International Series tournaments have already been played in India, Macau, Japan, and Morocco this season, along with the Jakarta International Championship last time out. The series rounds off with the PIF Saudi International from 19-22 November, and the leader of the season-long rankings race will win a place on LIV Golf next season.

/IANS