Quiban fights back with 67 but trails by 4 in Macau Open
MANILA, Philippines — Justin Quiban put up a resilient finish to card a three-under 67 in the opening round of the Macau Open on Thursday, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with red-hot leaders Wenyi Ding and Charoenkul Gunn, who torched the par-70 Macau Golf and Country Club with eagle-spiked 63s.
Quiban, starting on the back nine, opened with three birdies against a lone bogey before stumbling with another dropped shot on the fifth. But he bounced back with birdies on Nos. 6 and 8 for a 33-34 round, good for a share of 15th place alongside Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho, Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat, South Africa’s Jaco Ahlers, and Micah Shin.
Meanwhile, fellow Filipino Sean Ramos scrambled to save par 70 despite hitting only six fairways and 12 greens in regulation. Four bogeys were offset by four birdies, keeping him just within the projected cutline in a tie for 61st.
However, it was a tougher day for Miguel Tabuena, who struggled with a 72 after a wobbly start. He mixed three birdies with two bogeys and a double bogey on his opening nine, and failed to regain momentum coming home with one bogey and no birdies.
He fell to joint 90th and in danger of missing the cut in the $1-million Asian Tour event.
China’s Ding surged into early contention with a 32-31 card highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 18th and six birdies against a lone bogey, while Thai Charoenkul matched that with a bogey-free round featuring five birdies and an eagle on No. 13.
The duo grabbed a one-shot lead over Germany’s Dominic Foos and Australia’s Jack Thompson, who matched 64s.
Former world No. 1 Lee Westwood, making his return to the event he won 26 years ago, struggled mightily. The Englishman managed just one birdie while stumbling with three bogeys and a double en route to a 74, dropping to a share of 117th in the 144-player field.
Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai, the third player in the Tabuena-Westwood group, remained in the mix with a 68, settling in a tie for 29th.
At the Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac, Italy’s Michele Ortolani and Thailand’s Waris Manthorn grabbed the early lead in the ADT Players Championship, each firing a five-under 65 in Thursday’s opening round.
Ortolani caught fire on the back nine, shooting a sizzling 29 highlighted by five straight birdies from No. 10. Manthorn eagled the par-5 ninth and added seven birdies to negate a pair of bogeys.
Filipinos Carl Corpus and amateur Rolando Bregente stayed within striking distance with two-under 70s, trailing the leaders by five shots.
Amateurs Charles Serdeña, Shinichi Suzuki and Perry Bucay each turned in 71s for a share of 28th alongside Enrico Gallaro and several others.
Close behind the leaders are Nirun Sae-ueng, Chonjarern Baramithanaseth, Pep Angles, and Niklas Regner, all carding 66s, while Tawit Polthai and Sam Broadhurst posted 67s to remain in contention on a tightly bunched leaderboard.
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