Carl Corpus —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Rookie Carl Corpus picked himself up from a shaky front nine to churn out a three-under-par 69 and take a one-shot lead over Angelo Que and two others in the P2.5 million ICTSI Caliraya Springs Championship, where a practical cavalry still has a shot at winning going into the money rounds.

The 23-year-old Corpus showed a lot of composure after two bogeys in his first nine holes practically erased his first three birdies, picking up two shots in a flawless back nine to be at 135 after 36 holes, with Que, who bogeyed the 18th, settling for a 70 to be one behind like Jonel Ababa and South Korean Cheon Ji-sung who fired a 67 and 66, in that order.

“I just told myself to not dwell on those mistakes anymore,” Corpus, already a winner on the Asian Development Tour, said. “I just focused on what I can do right and made a back nine charge.”

Four players are within two shots of Corpus and another four are only five behind, with former Junior World champion Kristoffer Arevalo shooting a 69 to lead the group at 137 and press on in his most impressive performance as a pro to date.

Former champions Keanu Jahns and Rupert Zaragosa fired a 67 and 68 to be in the company of Arevalo. Fidel Concepcion is the fourth man in that group after shooting a 69.

Seeking a third win in four legs this season, the 46-year-old Que remained unfazed despite a sputtering finish. He went straight to the putting green to polish his stroke.

“I could have gone very low,” Que, a three-time winner on the Asian Tour, said. “I hit it better today than (a first-round 66 on Tuesday). I just missed a lot of putts.

“It is what it is,” he went on. “Hopefully I can sort out the putting tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, the 54-hole, P1 million ladies side of the event comes to a close on Thursday with Sarah Ababa, Chihiro Ikeda and Princess Superal sharing a two-shot lead over defending champion Harmie Constantino and Florence Bisera.