Que, Rosales on course for World Cup

Angelo Que rattled off three straight birdies from No. 10 then holed out with another 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th to power the Philippines to a six-under par 66 for a share of third place with host Malaysia at the start of the World Cup qualifier paced by Singapore in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

With Gerald Rosales chipping in two birdies, the Philippines recovered from a mediocre one-under par stint on the frontside of the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club with that closing 31 as it stood just two strokes off Singapore, which surprised the field with an eight-under par 64 under the four-ball format.

"Angel played really good when we needed to," said Rosales, who is hoping his third partnership with Que will finally earn them a stint in the World Cup. "We both played badly on the front nine for a one-under and then he told me that we needed to birdie the next three holes to bounce back in contention."

Que, winner of the inaugural Vietnam Masters last year, did birdie the first three holes at the back and holed out with another for good measure.

It was indeed a fine start for the Filipino pair in the four-day tournament, which stakes two berths in next month’s World Cup in Portugal with Que and Rosales hoping to sustain their momentum in the foursomes today.

Rosales paid tribute to Que, who contributed four of the team’s six birdies, including three straight after the turn which sparked their round. The Filipinos turned in one-under before Que knocked approach shots to six feet on the 10th, and four feet on the 11th and 12th, respectively, for easy birdies and rolled in another birdie from 10 feet on No. 18.

Singapore’s Mardan Mamat and Lam Chih Bing combined for an eight-under-par 64 to seize a one-stroke lead over surprise package Finland, which produced a 65, courtesy of Janne Mommo and Ari Savolainen.

Malaysia also enjoyed a solid start with Iain Steel and Danny Chia matching the Filipinos’ round.

With Mamat, the reigning Indian Open champion, as steady as ever, the big-hitting Lam took the opportunity to attack the pins and contributed one eagle and four birdies on Singapore’s scorecard.

"Mardan is always in play and this allows me to attack," said Lam, who qualified with Mamat to the 2002 World Cup. "We enjoyed a really good start by being six-under through the front nine but eased off a bit coming in."

Mamat, fresh from his best finish of the year on the Asian Tour where he was tied sixth in the Crowne Plaza Open, Beijing, carded two birdies on the front nine and holed a big 12-foot birdie at the par five 18th to give Singapore the first day lead.

"Chih Bing carried me on the front nine and I was saying to myself that I’ve got to help my partner. I was happy to hole that last putt. Chih Bing played really well. We have known and played together since our amateur days, so our relationship for events like this does help a lot," said Mamat.

The home team also needed a birdie at the last hole to remain close to neighbours Singapore, with Chia draining an eight footer for Malaysia’s sixth birdie of the day. Steel, featuring for Malaysia for the first time, contributed two birdies and said they missed a bucketful of opportunities.

"We had our chances but we didn’t putt well," said Steel, who has played most of his golf in America and Europe. "I didn’t give myself that many chances and Danny played good but didn’t make the putts."

Chia said: "I’m glad I knocked in that last putt as I missed quite a few out there earlier. We struggled with the pace of the greens, it was just a boring day without many birdies. I think we missed something like seven chances."

Myanmar’s Kyi Hla Han and Zaw Moe carded a 67 which was matched by Chinese Taipei duo Wang Ter-chang and Chang Tse-peng as they shared fifth place, three off the lead.

 The Myanmar duo were left in a daze by the tricky greens, missing three six-foot birdie chances. "It could have been a nicer score," said Han, Asia’s number one in 1999.

 "The pins were tough out there and we missed a few chances. The main thing would be the foursomes tomorrow," said Han.

 Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng and Thaworn Wiratchant, the current Asian Tour number one, suffered a disappointing day on the greens as they produced only a 69 to lie five shots off the pace.

 Like the Myanmar side, they were frustrated by the tricky greens and missed a hatful of chances. Prayad wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet and said the foursomes format on Friday would separate the boys from the men.