CARMONA, Cavite – Peter Stojanovski of Macedonia came out of a near three-hour long weather delay with a cluster of birdies at the back late in the day and matched Tony Lascuña course record-equaling 10-under 62 in morning play as they took a one-shot lead over American Lexus Keoninh at the start of the ICTSI Manila Southwoods Championship at the Legends course here yesterday.
Stojanovski, who has had a number of mediocre finishes on the Philippine Golf Tour, sizzled with five birdies in the first eight holes but stumbled with a bogey on the ninth before play was stopped due to lightning, enabling Lascuña and Keoninh to take the 1-2 post with one-third of the 110-player starting field still to complete play.
But the stoppage failed to slow down Stojanovski, who resumed his birdie-binge on Nos. 10, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 18 to close out with a 30 and a 62 that earned him a share of first round honors in the $60,000 event sponsored by ICTSI.
Lascuña’s dazzling show of iron play enabled him to duplicate American John Michael O’Toole’s feat in this same tournament last year.
Keoninh raced ahead of the pack with a 63 that also featured 10 birdies against a bogey until Lascuña confidently rolled in two long putts on Nos. 17 and 18 to cap a brilliant bogey-free 31-31 card that shoved him past the American in the early going of the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
Lascuña gunned down five birdies on each side inside six feet, except on No. 3 where he chipped in from about 20 feet.
Thirty eight others broke par as the elite field tamed the layout’s last line of defense with superb putting with obscure Nilo Salahog firing a 64 for solo fourth, Jobim Carlos shooting a 65 for fifth and Elmer Salvador leading a six-player group at sixth with 66s.
Miguel Tabuena missed joining the 66 scorers with a bogey on the par-3 16th, settling for a 67 in a tie with Albin Engino, Japanese Hirotaro Naito, Gerald Rosales and Clyde Mondilla at 12th.