Clavecilla paces RP srs golf by two

DASMARINAS, Cavite — Iggy Clavecilla sputtered coming home but still salvaged a round of 74 yesterday to lead Florene delos Santos by two strokes at the start of the Philippine Seniors Amateur Open at the Palmer Course of The Orchard Golf and Country Club here.

A bogey on the par-5 18th typified Clavecilla’s homeward struggle as he closed out the backside with four bogeys against two birdies although his 36-38 card proved enough to show up the rest of the 61-man field in the centerpiece Open division (55-59 yrs old).

Like Clavecilla, whose buildup for this event included a stint in last week’s Philippine Amateur Open won by Jerome Delariarte for the second straight year, Delos Santos had a shaky windup, bogeying three of the last nine holes for a 76 (37-39).

So did defending champion Richie Garcia, who also dropped three strokes in the last five holes, including a double- bogey on No. 17, although he remained in the thick of things with a 79, three strokes adrift in this event sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission, DHL Worldwide Express, WWW Express, Airlift Asia, Inc., Mizuno and Master Sports Corp.

Three players — Alex Montelibano, Edwin Arcilla and Bing Bunye — stood at 78, while Peregrin De Guzman and Antonio Sarmiento, Jr. shot identical 80s to stay in the hunt for the title with 36 holes left to play in the centerpiece event of the annual tournament staged by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Cesar Munoz, competing in Category II (60-64 yrs old), scored a hole in one on No. 7 using a Taylor Made 5-iron and a Precept 00 ball.

His ace, however, failed to power him to the top of his division as he settled for joint fourth with three others with 82, three shots behind leader Andres Co, who shot a 79. Hector Moreno carded an 80 for second while Soon stood in third with an 81.

In Category III (65-69), Shigemi Chikama fired a 75 to post a three-shot lead over Marcelo Alfonso, who shot a 78, while Alfonso Mesina carded a 79 for third.

Claro Zablan, on the other hand, shot an 84 wrested a seven-stroke lead over Jun Galindez and Eduardo Espejo, who both shot 91s.