Que, Lascuña share second in Taiwan

MANILA, Philippines - Angelo Que and Tony Lascuña carded identical two-under 70s to force a five-way tie at second, four strokes behind local bet Lien Chi-wei at the start of the Mercuries Taiwan Masters at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club in Taipei yesterday.

Que, a three-time Asian Tour winner, hit 14 greens but settled for three birdies against a bogey, while Lascuña, the reigning Order of Merit leader on the Philippine Golf Tour, matched that output to put themselves in early contention in the $600,000 event.

Que said he could’ve gone lower despite tough conditions but just couldn’t make the putts.

“It’s a condition where you hit one bad drive or shot and the ball can end up 30 or 40 yards left or right because of the wind. You got to know what you are doing. It was a straight-forward round. It is possible shooting a 66 but missed four or five short birdie putts,” said Que.

In contrast, Lien frolicked on the putting surface and made just 26 putts, including one from 20 feet out for an eagle-3 on No. 6.

Other 70 scorers were Hsieh Chi-hsien and Wang Shih-jui, both of Taiwan, and Korean Baek Seuk-hyun.

Miguel Tabuena, who finished tied for fourth here last year, sputtered with a 75 and fell in a big group at 53rd along with fellow Filipinos Elmer Salvador, Jay Bayron and Mars Pucay.