While the fancied pros either turned in mediocre rounds or failed to play to their full potential, the 22-year-old Delariarte tamed the par-72 layout with a kind of shotmaking worthy of a spot in any national squad, sinking a bending 16-foot birdie putt on No. 6, where he teed off in the shotgun style pro-am event, to spark a birdie binge that produced a sterling 33-32 card.
He seized a hefty lead over pro Elmer Salvador, himself a former national amateur champion still trying to etch his name in the pro ranks. Like Delariarte, Salvador birdied his first hole on No. 9 then went on to fire three more before a bogey from an errant drive on the par 5 No. 6 slowed down his bid for 35-34 round.
"I just wanted to put up a good score so I played loose throughout," said Delariarte, who lost to reigning back-to-back champion Angelo Que in last year’s final and in a playoff for low amateur honors, also to Que, in the recent Philippine Open at Wack Wack.
But it wasn’t just a good score. It was spectacular one considering that Delariarte’s previous best stood in the 68s or 69s with his 65 falling a stroke off the record 64 made by Swede Daniel Olsson during the 1996 World Amateurs.
"It was kind of expected (for the amateurs) to score low in this course because they’re playing without pressure. But we always believe the Legends is tougher than the Masters with its long par 5s," said Southwoods golf director Jeric Hechanova.
Three unfancied pros stood five strokes behind at 70 with former Philippine Open champion Mario Manubay making an eagle on the par 4 No. 15 that spiked his round of 35-35. The other two-under par scorers were Edgar Ababa, Orchard pro Lito Rempojo and Que, who bogeyed two of the last three holes for 36-34.
Ababa, whose first and last victory was in the 1997 Epson Classic at Alabang, birdied three of the four par 5s to string a 70 that once stood as one of the day’s best scores until news of Delariarte’s explosive round hit the sprawning Masters clubhouse.
Cassius Casas and Gerald Rosales, the Southwoods top pros whose pre-tournament hype for the title almost relegated the others to the background, fired identical 71s in the featured flight the included former President Fidel Ramos and Manila Southwoods chairman Bob Sobrepeña.
Casas, coming off from his RP Open romp, failed to get untracked in the early going as he bogeyed three straight holes from No. 2. The dusky Davaoeno, however, fought back with five birdies to go two-under but flubbed a three-foot putt for par on the 18th to settle for that 37-34 card.
"Hindi nakaporma agad dahil dun sa tatlong sunod na bogeys," rued Casas, who remained confident of bagging a second straight pro crown in this event sponsored by College Assurance Plan, Manila Southwoods, Wilson, Ericsson and Smart and Callaway as one of the donors.