Aussie leads siege of WW

From the looks of it, the battle for this year’s Philippine Open is going to be close.

Sixteen players led by Australian Scott Strange broke par on the opening day of the tournament, almost turning into red the upper portion of the Wack Wack leaderboard.

The par-72, 7,053-yard east course of Wack Wack was nearly defenseless with the starting field playing under preferred lie rule due the soggy conditions of the fairways brought by late summer rains. Organizers have yet to decide whether to apply the same rule for today’s round.

Aside from the 16 players who broke par, there were eight who matched par, and a total of 21 who finished at one-over. The halfway cut is pegged at 65th place, including ties.

"This is the type of course where 10 to 15 guys can win on the final round. You might get someone six or seven shots out, then he shoots low and wins it," said Strange.

"This is my first time in the Philippines. And when I won last year in Myanmar, it was on a course with this type of grass — cowgrass. It was my first win on the Asian Tour," he said.

Strange had two bogeys and six birdies, including one on the 17th, a 168-yard par-three where the green is shaped like a camel back. Someone once said "it’s like pitching onto the hood of a Volkswagen."

"This hole will decide the championship," said Strange of the course’s signature hole which used to be the eighth on its original layout prior to the event.

With his 68, the lean-framed Australian is just a stroke ahead of Scotland’s Barry Hume, Australia’s Simon Nash and the deadly Taiwanese pair of Yeh Chang-ting and Lu Wei-lan.

With a 70 were five players, including Cookie La’O, the best-placed Filipino so far, and Rick Gibson, the 2002 winner who calls himself "Pinoy-Canadian."

La’O, a former jungolfer who won the RP Open low amateur honors in 2000, was probably the only player, or at least the only one among those on top, who scored an eagle for the day.

"I’m very pleased. Hopefully this week I can come through," said La’O who eagled the par-five No. 4 where he sent his second shot from 234 yards (20 feet) to the hole, and making the putt.

Artemio Murakami and Angelo Que were both at 71, joined by four others, including three players from Down Under. Que is eyeing a second win in the Asian Tour, having won one in Vietnam in 2004.

Filipinos Juvic Pagunsan and Mars Pucay were at 72, and Gene Bondoc, Marvin Dumandan, Richard Sinfuego, Danny Zarate and 2000 RP Open winner Gerald Rosales at 73.

At 74 but not yet out of it all were 1990 champion Robert Pactolerin and Randy Geralde. Cassius Casas, the 2001 winner of Asia’s oldest pro tournament, was hard to find in the leaderboard with his 79.

The country’s finest amateurs are giving it a try.

They are Jay Bayron, Jun Bernis, Michael Bibat, Antonio Asistio, Anthony Fernando, Gary Sales, John Policarpio and Matthew Manotoc.