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STA. ROSA: Gerald Rosales put on an amazing display
of shotmaking and bucked the tricky putting surface of The Country
Club with a near-impeccable iron play to fire a four-under par 66
and wrest a one-stroke lead over Elmer Salvador at the start of the
P4.4 million Don Pocholo Razon Memorial Cup here Thursday.
Three birdies on the front side
on his way home turned what had appeared to be a mediocre round into
an explosive windup for the 30-year-old Rosales, who finished
runner-up to Frankie Miñoza in the recent Philippine Open and whose
solid driving and superb iron game set up four birdies inside three
feet for a 32-34 round at the par-70 layout.
“I hit it quite well today. But
it’s difficult to read the greens,” said Rosales, who could’ve
gotten a crack on the course record of 64 set by absentee Juvic
Pagunsan during the 2005 Manila SEA Games if not for four flubbed
birdie putts from seven feet.
“I just can’t get the right
allowance. But it was a good start,” added Rosales, who also
rescued pars in two times that he went out of regulation that
preserved a bogey-free round on a hot, humid day.
With Miñoza starting off on the
wrong foot with a one-over 71, five behind the leader, Salvador also
made a good start, birdying three holes at the front like Rosales.
He actually tied the former RP
Open winner with a birdie on No. 10 but dropped a stroke on the long
par-3 11th after missing the green. After muffing birdie putts
inside six feet on the next two holes, Salvador drew level again
with a birdie on No. 14, only to reel back with another missed green
bogey on the 17th. He had 32-35.
With Pagunsan, who nipped Miñoza
in a playoff to bag last year’s crown, failing to start due to a
nagging shoulder injury, Jerome Delariarte tried to become the first
player to win here twice as the 2004 champion opened with a
two-under 68 for third, two strokes off the pace.
Robert Pactolerin blew a
two-under card after nines holes at the back, three-putting No. 8
for a one-under 69 in a tie with Angelo Que, who came up with
back-to-back birdies from No. 14 but fumbled with a bogey on the
17th for a 33-36 card as only five players broke par on a relatively
windless day.
Miñoza, riding the crest of his
joint runner-up finish in last week’s Indonesia Open that gave him
the No. 1 spot in the Asian Tour Order of Merit ranking and made him
the heavy favorite to win the P1.3-million top purse here,
three-putted his opening hole on No. 10 and missed the green twice
on No. 11 for another bogey.
and another lady amateur Junior
World champion Cyna Rodriguez.
Seven members of the national
pool under the ICTSI golf program are in the fold with Dottie Ardina,
another Junior World champion, making a 74, Dante Becierra and Gino
Bunyi turning in identical 75s, and
Crystal Superal and Anya Tanpinco
scoring 76 each.
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