Shin sizzles with 66; Harmie, Chanelle lead with 70s

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Micah Shin returned to familiar ground at Apo Golf and Country Club here and carded a 66 to seize the first-round lead in the ICTSI Apo Golf Classic.

With deep knowledge of the tight, exacting layout and a game honed by campaigns abroad, Shin made the most of his home-course advantage and took a three-shot lead over last week’s South Pacific leg winner Clyde Mondilla. A slew of pursuers shared third place with 70s, including Sean Ramos, Russell Bautista, local journeyman Ramil Bisera, Paul Echavez, Jeremy Tandoy, Dino Villanueva and Korean Kim Tae Soo.

Meanwhile, Harmie Constantino and Chanelle Avaricio matched two-under 70s, erasing what initially looked like a dominant opening round for Avaricio and setting the stage for a wide-open title race in women’s play.

The dramatic finish locked the pair at the top of the leaderboard, just one stroke ahead of South Korea’s Kim Seoyun, who missed forcing a three-way deadlock after a late mistake on the front nine, settling for a 71.