US ace tames TCC with 68, leads by 2

John Catlin showed no fear on the dreaded The Country Club layout, firing a brilliant four-under 68 to wrest a two-stroke lead over local aces Miguel Tabuena and Angelo Que and four others at the start of the rich Solaire Philippine Open in Sta. Rosa, Laguna on Thursday.

The course’s length and the wind that bedeviled the games of majority of the 129-player field and the afternoon heat failed to slow down the 26-year-old Californian, who flashed a near-impeccable short game to turn in a pair of 34s to find himself the bewildered leader in a long opening day of the $400,000 championship sponsored by Solaire Resort and Casino.