Ramos flourishes with 66 in big Asian Tour elims start

MANILA, Philippines – Sean Ramos recovered big from an early backside stumble with a cluster of birdies as he produced an impressive four-under 66 to set in motion his drive for an Asian Tour card in the Qualifying School Section D paced by clubhouse leader American Matthew Negri at the Thana City Country Club in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday.

The young Filipino shotmaker failed to get up-and-down on No. 12 but flourished with his long game and iron play from there, closing out his backside stint with three birdies in the last four holes then adding two more at the back to complete a 34-32 card and fuel his bid for a spot in the Final Qualifying Stage.

He gained an early share of fourth place with Liu Yen-Hung of Taiwan with half of the 131 bidders in the fourth part of the extensive elims still to complete play at the par-70 layout at presstime.

Negri, meanwhile, sizzled on a frontside finish, hitting four birdies, including three straight from No,. 4, as he took the provisional lead with a 64, one stroke ahead of fellow American Michael Maguire and Gyumin Lee of Korea, who matched 65s.

Ramos, a former national team player who honed his talent and skills on the Philippine Golf Tour, came through with a birdie-par-birdie-birdie backside windup after a mishap on the 12th then birdied the first par-3 (No. 3) and the last par-5 (No. 7) to put himself in early contention.

But Dino Villanueva, the other Filipino in the fold, struggled and shot himself in the foot with a seven-over 77 and in danger of missing the cut in the second-to-last elims leading to the Final Qualifying Stage set Jan. 18-22 at the Lakeview Resort and Golf Club in Hua Hin, also in Thailand.

More than 240 hopefuls are vying for the Final Stage spots with 13 advancing from the Section A qualifier held for the first time in the US at Oakcreek Country Club last November, 24 from the Section B elims at the Blue Canyon Country Club’s Canyon course in Phuket, Thailand last month, and 23 more from Section C leg, also at Blue Canyon, last week.

The Sections D and E elims are actually being held simultaneously with the latter staged at the Springfield Royal Country Club (B and C), also in Hua Hin.

PGT campaigner Enrico Gallardo and amateurs Gab Manotoc and John Uy fell short of their respective bids in Section C while Zanieboy Gialon and Jhonnel Ababa will compete in the final stage.

Lloyd Go, meanwhile, secured his Asian Tour spot by finishing No. 7 in the 2022 Asian Development Tour Order of Merit with the Top 10 earning cards for the 2023 season, which promises to be the biggest and best year in the region’s premier tour history.