SAN DIEGO, California – Miguel Olivarez-Ilas birdied the last hole for a one-over-par 55 and a share of the lead in the boys six years and under division at the Pine Glen course of the Sycuan Resort to spark a solid opening day charge by Philippine bets as Princess Superal and five others likewise put themselves in contention in the Callaway Junior World golf championships in various venues here on Tuesday (Wednesday Manila time).
The last hole birdie enabled the son of former national tennis player Eva to tie Ken Shibata of Japan after a roller-coaster round that saw Ilas collect four birdies against five bogeys. They will be teeing off Wednesday with a two-shot lead over Allan Kournikova of Florida.
Princess Superal (girls 13-14 years), Missy Legaspi (girls 9-10) and Jed Dy (boys 7-8) were just two shots behind while Sophia Blanco (girls 7-8), Bianca Pagdanganan (girls 13-14), Irina Gabasa (girls 15-17), Bernice Olivarez-Ilas (girls 9-10), Mia Legaspi (girls 11-12), Eagle Ace Superal (girls 6 and under) were all inside the top 10 in their respective divisions to boost the country’s chances of scoring a victory in this event gathering the world’s best junior players.
Superal was just two strokes behind in a tie for sixth after an even-par 72 at the Oak Glen course of Sycuan, Missy Legaspi put herself two shots behind a leading trio at 57 with a 59 at Lomas Santa Fe executive course and Dy shot a 60 to stay close on the heels of frontrunning Colombian Juan Solano (58) at Pine Glen Sycuan.