Lascuna, Que card 68s, trail by 5 in Macau Open

MANILA, Philippines - Tony Lascuna and Angelo Que turned in identical three-under par 68s to trail Gaganjeet Bhullar of India by five at the start of the $750,000 Macau Open at the Macau Golf and Country Club in Macau yesterday.

Lascuna, who placed joint second in last month’s Taiwan Masters, hit three birdies and salvaged two scrambling pars to preserve a bogey-free 33-35 round at the par-71 layout, which took a severe beating from the field.

Que, who tied for sixth in Taiwan and wound up joint 19tth in last week’s CJ Invitational in Korea, birdied four of the last seven holes at the back to save a 36-32 card in a day 32 players broke par and 13 others match par.

Bhullar rattled off seven birdies in a 14-hole stretch from No. 2 to fire an eight-under 63 and seize a two-stroke lead over Thai Prom Meesawat and Australian Scott Hend.

Miguel Tabuena, who will turn 18 tomorrow, hit four straight birdies from No. 14 for a 33 but dropped three strokes in the last four holes at the front to settle for a one-under 70.

Jhonnel Ababa carded an even par 71 while Elmer Salvador and Michael Bibat struggled with a pair of 72s.

Frankie Minoza, in a rare stint on the circuit, groped for form with a 75 in a tie with Mars Pucay and six others.