Eagle-powered 64 nets Guce joint lead; Ardina 3 shots off

MANILA, Philippines – Clariss Guce stormed out of the gates with a stellar performance, dominating the Indian Wells Golf Resort’s Players Course on Thursday (Friday Manila time) with an eagle-fueled seven-under-par 64, earning her a share of the lead with American Hailee Cooper at the start of the Epson Tour Championship in California.

Taking full advantage of the ideal playing conditions, the US-based Filipina shotmaker birdied two of the first five holes, before unleashing an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole. She continued her momentum with another birdie on the eighth, making the turn at five-under 30.

Despite a quieter back nine that included two more birdies, Guce maintained her precision to finish without a single bogey on the card at the par-71 layout.

Guce, chasing her third title in the LPGA Tour’s developmental circuit, displayed her hallmark consistency by hitting all but one fairway and averaging an impressive 264 yards off the tee.

Though she missed regulation on four holes, she compensated with her sharp putting, needing just 26 putts to complete one of her best opening rounds in recent years.

However, Cooper matched Guce's seven-under 64, carding a similarly bogey-free round with nines of 31-33. The duo leads New Zealand’s Amelia Garvey by two strokes, while fellow Filipina Dottie Ardina put herself in early contention with a four-under 67.

Ardina, looking to rebound from a disappointing final round at an LPGA event in Arkansas last week, got off to a rough start with a 36 on the back nine.

But she rallied with four birdies, including three in a row starting from the fifth, to post a 67, placing her in a tie for seventh alongside four others, including Sweden’s former world amateur No. 1 Ingrid Lindblad.

Pauline del Rosario, returning from a brief layoff, had a more challenging day. She fired four birdies but was undone by three bogeys and a double bogey, finishing with a 72 to sit just above the projected cutline in joint 61st out of a field of 107 players.