GEN. TRIAS, Cavite – In his Philippine Golf Tour return, Angelo Que didn’t disappoint, so did Zanieboy Gialon and Jhonnel Ababa as the troika forged ahead in a crowded leaderboard with identical 67s for a one-stroke lead over Tony Lascuña at the start of the ICTSI Eagle Ridge at Aoki Invitational here yesterday.
Michael Bibat cleared the par-4 No. 5 off the mound and banged in a 10-foot putt for eagle and went on to fire a 69 for joint fifth with Anthony Fernando, Lloyd Go and Gerald Rosales, while Reymon Jaraula, Mars Pucay and Orlan Sumcad matched 70s under the lift, clean and place setup in this P2 million championship serving as the fourth leg of this year’s circuit put up by ICTSI.
Ira Alido, Eric Gallardo, Frankie Miñoza, Juvic Pagunsan, Sean Ramos, Guido Van der Valk and Dino Villanueva carded identical 71s while Jerson Balasabas, Rico Depilo, Marvin Dumandan and Rupert Zaragosa matched par 72s to all but set the stage for a spirited chase in the next three days.
Back on the rain-softened course where he tied for 11th in his last PGT stint last year, Que outgunned Pagunsan and Van der Valk in the featured flight with a scorching start of four birdies in the first six holes. He failed to return a six-footer for par on the par-3 No. 7 but snapped a run of pars with birdies on Nos. 14 and 16 to turn in the day’s last five-under card in overcast skies.
Que actually muffed a four-footer for birdie on the first hole after Pagunsan rolled in his own bid from 40 feet out to open their highly anticipated duel.
But the three-time Asian Tour champion took the challenge to heart, birdying the second, again from close range, and picked up three straight strokes from No. 4 to seize command at four-under with Ababa in a flight ahead.
Van der Valk, who nipped Miguel Tabuena in sudden death to reign at Splendido, struggled trying to measure up with Que and Pagunsan’s power game, reeling with a frontside 37 but rallying with a 34 highlighted by a birdie-eagle feat from No. 15 to get back into the mix in the 72-hole championship organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
3 share lead in LPGT
Harmie Constantino and Chihiro Ikeda holed out with birdies on opposite nines as they saved one-under par 71s and forced a three-way tie for the lead with Sarah Ababa after 18 holes in the distaff side.
As fancied Chanelle Avaricio floundered with a wobbly backside start, Constantino bounced back from back-to-back bogeys from No. 14 with two birdies in the last three holes for a 35-36 while Ikeda, playing in a separate flight, birdied the ninth on her way home to turn in her own version of a 35-36 round marked by an eagle on the par-5 No. 16.
They opened a two-stroke lead over amateur Mikha Fortuna and Apple Fudolin, while Korean Juyoung Yang blew a one-under card after six holes with four bogeys in the last 10 as she limped with a 75.
Pamela Mariano, Lovelynn Guioguio and Marvi Monsalve hobbled with 76s while Avaricio failed to recover from a four-bogey skid from No. 11 and wound up with a 77 to tumble to joint 10th with Martina Miñoza in a disappointing start.
“I played good but I hope to play more consistent in the next two rounds,” said Ababa. “I had many (birdie) chances but my speed and allowance just wouldn’t match.”
Teeing off at the back, Ikeda, who ended a long title spell with a three-stroke triumph over Avaricio at Mt. Malarayat last May, struck back from a missed green bogey on No. 13 and a three-putt mishap on the 15th with an eagle on No. 16. The Manila Southwoods and AsiaGlobal Technologies-backed ace then mixed two birdies with two bogeys in the first four holes at the front before drilling in a birdie on the last to get a shared view of the top.
“I hope to play better tomorrow (today), especially on the birdie holes,” said Ikeda, referring to a couple of par-5s of the Aoki layout.
Constantino, seeking to extend her run of good luck here where she nailed her first two wins in her rookie season last year, rued her missed chances on Nos. 14 and 15 that stymied her bid to take command.
