Salvador outduels Que for 63, leads by 3

LIPA CITY, Batangas , Philippines  – Elmer Salvador came out better than fancied defending  champion Angelo Que in their hunt for birdies that came like rain yesterday, hitting seven with an eagle to boot for a stirring bogey-free nine-under par 63 and a threeshot lead at the start of the Philippine Open here.

Salvador, sustaining his form after winning the Order of Merit title in the recent ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour, made one big charge in their final nine holes at the frontside of the Mt. Malarayat composite course, ramming in four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 seventh to close out with a 30 for that 63.

Que, trying to become the seventh player to score an RP Open repeat, bucked tough pin

placements and outgunned Salvador at the back with four birdies for a 32. He upped his lead to two with another birdie on No. 1 but the British Open veteran’s charge fizzled out in the face of Salvador’s explosive windup.

Still, Que ended up with a 34 for a 66 for joint second with Dutch Valk Van Der Guido, one of the four foreigners in this 93rd staging of the country’s premier championship presented by Stradcom, San Miguel Corp. and 2-Go/Super Ferry and backed by major sponsors Pagcor and Jorgman Construction & Dev. Corp. “I hope to keep my form in the next three days,” said the 39-year-old Salvador, who won two legs in the ICTSI-PGT circuit and tied for second with Que in the last stage in Canlubang won by Juvic Pagunsan last week.

The 31-year-old Pagunsan, still undecided until the eve of the P2.5 million event, arrived  just in time for their 7:40 a.m. flight with Danny Zarate and Omar Dungca, teed off  without going to the range and paid dearly for it.

He actually birdied the 10^th where he started but bogeyed the next two holes, made a  triple bogey on the par-5 13th and never recovered. He limped with a 41 then matched par 36 at the front for a 77 and faced the specter of missing the cut in this 93rd staging of the event backed by hole-in-one sponsors Mitsubishi Motors Philippines and Club Car.

Salvador, a talented but underrated player, started with three birdies at the Mt. Lobo course then added three more in the first six holes at the Mt. Makulot layout. He then  knocked down a 7-iron second shot from 172 yards to within 13 feet for that eagle before capping his brilliant round with another birdie.

He said later it helped playing alongside Que. “He’s (Que) one of the best, if not the best so I had to play at par with him,” said Salvador, whose feat was one shot off Aussie Jason Dawes’ 62 in the 2005 Open. Que looked headed for a solid round after going five-under with another birdie on No. 1, his 10th. But he fumbled with a three-putt bogey on No. 3 although he recovered with birdies on Nos. 5 and 7 for that 66.

“Pin placements today were not easy to adjust with but I’m satisfied with how I played,” said Que. “It also helped that there was no wind in the morning and the greens were soft.”

Frankie Miñoza came in ruffled by the gusts in one of the afternoon flights, carding a oneover 73 but flightmates Marvin Dumandan and Richard Sinfuego rose to the  challenge, firing 67 and 68 for fourth and joint fifth, respectively.

Tony Lascuna also fired a 67 to tie Dumandan while Carito Villaroman, Michael Bibat and Benjie Magada each turned in a 68 to catch up with Sinfuego.

Van der Valk, a 29-year-old Asian Tour campaigner who has lived in Laguna for two and a half years now, also had a bogey-free round of six birdies, including an impressive 32 a the back, barely missing an eagle putt from eight feet on the 18th.

The event is backed by Amalgamated Motors,  Orient Pearl, Mega Data Corp, Pandrol Korea, MRT, Seokwang, Zest Air, Star Infrastructure, CATS Inc, AMA Computer College, Sunwest, Alecon, Herma Group, Northwest Airlines, DMCI, Cebu Pacific and 1st Tee and 10th Tee Energy Bars, USA.