Sta. Rosa, Laguna—Thai Tawit Polthai crushed the stellar field and unraveled the dreaded The Country Club course with a bogey-free, eagle-spiked 67, finding himself a bewildered leader by four over Clyde Mondilla and two others at the start of the 101st Solaire Philippine Open here yesterday.
Polthai overcame the heat and severe conditions in afternoon play with a near-impeccable short game and solid putting, producing three birdies inside 15 feet and a 10-foot eagle on the par-5 eighth off a 6-iron second shot from 183 yards for a 32-35 card in a big surge for a player who struggled to finish joint 37th in last week’s ICTSI Riviera Challenge.
While majority groped and struggled trying to come up with a decent start in scorching heat at the wind-raked Tom Weiskoph-designed layout he had never played before, Polthai made it look easy – at least after the first 18 holes of the $500,000 event sponsored by Solaire Resort & Casino for the third straight year.
“It’s a very tough, windy course. I’m really surprised to have shot a 67,” said the 25-year-old Polthai from Bangkok.
Mondilla, out to atone for his missed cut stint at Riviera, birdied two of the four par-5s and the par-3 third hole to negate his bogeys on Nos. 6 and 9 then parred the last eight holes to join Aussie Jack Sullivan and another Thai Charng-Tai Sudsomo at second with 71s.
“My irons, short game and putting finally clicked,” said Mondilla, who took the cudgels for the locals after the fancied Juvic Pagunsan and former champion Angelo Que succumbed to tough conditions and hobbled with identical 77s for joint 40th with Tony Lascuña and Thais Chawalit Plaphol and Poosit Supupramai in the 72-hole championship organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
Sudsom actually had a two-under card heading to the par-4 18th but holed out with a bogey, enabling Polthai to open with a huge cushion over a stellar international field in the event sanctioned by the National Golf Association of the Philippines and backed by ICTSI, PLDT Enterprise, Meralco, BDO and PGT Asia official apparel Pin High.
Nicholas Fung missed joining Mondilla and Sullivan with a bogey on No. 18 as the Malaysian ace dropped to a share of fifth at 72 with Thai Chonlatit Chuenboonngam, Sam Gillis of the US, Aussie Damien Jordan and locals Justin Quiban and Cookie La’O.
Polthai did struggle off the mound, missing five fairways but the native banked on his wondrous touch both on his long and short irons and putter, saving pars in eight times that he went out of regulation and capping his day-long brilliance with 24 putts.
Sullivan and Mondilla took advantage of their early tee start to card a pair of 71s which was later matched by , their one-under cards putting them four shots behind the hot-starting Polthai, whose blistering feat underscored the 39-player strong Thais’ determined bid to nail their first-ever Open diadem.
They got a crack at it last year when Prom Meesawat wrested the lead in the third day and majority of the final round, only to succumb to pressure and yield the crown to local ace Miguel Tabuena in a playoff.
But while Mondilla got his game going, the other local aces stumbled and fumbled with fat scores in hot, windy conditions, including Pagunsan, Que and three-time PGT Order of Merit winner Tony Lascuña, who all floundered with five-over cards in a tie with Thai Atiruj Winaicharoenchai, England’s George Twyman, and compatriots Erwin Arcillas and Paul Echavez.
“My putting was off and made just one birdie,” rued Pagunsan, who came off a seven-shot victory at Riviera last week but made three straight bogeys from No. 5 and dropped three more strokes at the back against a birdie on No. 17.
Que, a three-time champion of the TCC Invitational, bogeyed the first two holes and spent the rest of the day groping for form, finishing with four more bogeys and a double-bogey against three birdies for a 40-37 while Lascuña blew a decent 36 start with closing 41 marred by a double-bogey on No. 10 and a triple-bogey on No. 18.
Korean-American Micah Shin, who beat the cream of the local pro crop to become the first non-Filipino winner of the annual TCC Invitational, bogeyed the first two holes and three of the last four. He shot three birdies but dropped three strokes on the long par-4 ninth and made three more bogeys and a double bogey to find himself in danger of missing the cut with an 82.
Jhonnel Ababa, winner of four PGT Asia legs, struggled when ranged against Jordan and Meesawat, limping with a 79 to likewise fall below the projected cut-off line in the event sanctioned by the National Golf Association of the Philippines and backed by ICTSI, PLDT Enterprise, Meralco, BDO and PGT Asia official apparel Pin High.”‹