Sean Ramos carded a three-under 69 to lead the early charge of the Orchard bets in the first round of the Canlubang Amateur Open at Cangolf’s North course in Laguna yesterday.
Ramos actually missed turning in a lower output with a bogey on the par-5 17th but his 35-34 proved enough to net him a three-stroke edge over Kim Tae Soo, who matched par 72, with Joachim Yu holing out with a birdie to save a 73 and make it a 1-2-3 start for the Dasmariñas City, Cavite-based shotmakers.
Club bet Carlo Villaroman kept Ramos within sight all throughout but blew a one-under card with a double-bogey on the last hole as he dropped to joint third with Yu in the event put up annually by the Yulo family to provide the country’s leading players and budding golfers a venue where they could hone their talent and skills.
Perry Bucay of Camp Aguinaldo, Army’s Josh Jorge, Paolo Barro and Jaehyun Jung of Southwoods shot identical 74s for joint fifth while Bong Brobio of Forest Hills hobbled with a 75 to trail Ramos by six in the 54-hole championship backed by the National Golf Association of the Philippines as gold sponsor and MUST Consultatncy and Pacsports Phils., Inc. (bronze).
Paolo Wong stayed in the mix with a one-under card with three holes to go but the John Hay bet dropped three strokes on the par-4 16th then double-bogeyed the next and limped with a 76 in a tie with Aguinaldo’s Masaichi Otake in the tournament supported by hole-in-one sponsor The Turf Company and Texas Eagle (Golf Cars and Utility Vehicle).
Meanwhile, action in Classes A, B and C and ladies division, all slated over 36 holes, starts today (Thursday) at the North and South courses.