Balasabas surges past Gialon with solid 66

Jessie Balasabas, cashing in on his familiarity with Cangolf’s North layout, romped off with a bogey-free six-under 66 to wrest a one-stroke lead over Zanie Boy Gialon as the club bets flourished on their turf to dominate the first round of the P1.5 million ICTSI Canlubang Golf Invitational in Canlubang on Tuesday.

Balasabas flashed his local knowledge of the Robert Trent Jones-designed course—off the mound all the way to the putting green—where he, along with Gialon and a slew of others, have trained during their amateur days, giving them some edge in the fight for the top P270,000 purse over the rest of the 72-player field.