Salvador leads Yeangder golf; Que hits ace

MANILA, Philippines -  Elmer Salvador fired a six-under 66 to wrest a one-stroke lead over local ace Lien Lu-sen and two others while Angelo Que opened with an eagle and spiked his 68 with a hole-in-one as the Filipinos dominated the first round of the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship in Taiwan yesterday.

Salvador actually holed out with a bogey on the ninth and missed turning in a 65 but his 34-32 still proved enough to lead the $500,000 championship which features the leading players on the Asian Tour.

But it was Que who took the spotlight as the former three-time Asian Tour winner aced the 200-yard No. 5 using a 7-iron to win an Audemars Piguet watch worth 584,000 NT (approximately US$19,000) and 200,000 NT in cash (approximately US$6,500) at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club.

Thai Prom Meesawat and Aussie Marcus Both also carded 67s while Tony Lascuña tied Que at 68 along with Taiwan’s Hsu Hao-sheng and Malaysian Danny Chia.

Defending champion Thaworn Wiratchant stayed within sight of Salvador with a 70.

Que, who placed third here last year. got off to a fast start when he eagled the par-5 10th hole. He added two more birdies against two bogeys before celebrating wildly when his ball rolled into the fifth hole from 25 feet.

It was the Filipino’s first official hole-in-one in an Asian Tour event. He previously made two holes-in-one during the practice round of the 2011 Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters.

“I jumped when I saw the ball disappear. This is the third hole-in-one I’ve had in my career so far and also my first in a proper professional tournament,” said Que.

“I had a solid round today. I cannot complain. I’ve played well here for the last few years. It always feels like home coming back here every year, playing at the same golf course and having the same sponsor. I am very pleased with how I’ve played today. Hopefully I can keep it up till the end of the week,” said Que.

Salvador, a two-time winner on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), overcame his poor tee shots with a red-hot putter.

“My putting was very good today. I made three long putts from about 20 feet on holes 7th, 15th and 17th. My driver has not been performing well and I am still trying to figure out why,” said Salvador.