Amateurs golf games story

CANLUBANG — Jay Bayron and Louie Dacudao carded identical even par 72s under tough playing condition to lead the hopefuls in the first round of the two-day qualifying phase of the 2006 Philippine Amateur Golf Championships at The Country Club yesterday.

The 28-year-old Bayron, member of the national team which placed fifth in the recent Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, gunned down two birdies but fumbled with the same number of bogeys for that 36-36 card, which was matched by Dacudao in one of the late afternoon flights.

The wind blew from all over, sending the scores soaring with Michael Bibat, the Asian Games bronze medalist, the most notable who failed to survive the ordeal. He limped home with an 83 and stood in danger of missing the cut for the match play phase of the event.

Bibat, who played a superb game to snatch third place honors in the individual competition in Doha, failed to live up to the challenge this time as he opened up with back-to-back double bogeys and closed out with another on No. 15 in a birdie-less, error-filled round of 44-39.

The former Singapore Open champion found himself down the standings at 55th place, needing to recover in the second round today to ensure a spot in the top 32, which will advance to the tournament proper of the event sponsored by ICTSI (International Container Terminala Services, Inc.) and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Phils. (NGAP).

Marvin Dumandan, one of the favorites to nail down the country’s most prestigious amateur crown, minimized his mistakes by playing steady as he shared third place with Tonton Asistio at 74 while Marcel Puyat led the 75 scorers who included Joel Opaco, Mark Fernando and Jonel Ababa.

Anthony Fernando, one of the talents to watch from the national pool, shot a 76 to join five others in ninth place.

The other four-over scorers were Miko Alejandro, Jong Laput, Mario Labajo, Zanjeboy Gialon and Raymund Sangil.

The blustery winds also slowed down play in the ladies side of the tournament with Junior World champions and Asian Games veterans Dottie Ardina and Cyna Rodriguez and Anya Tanpinco all struggling with their respective games.

Tanpinco turned in a 76 while Ardina and Rodriguez groped for form with 79 and 81, respectively.

That enabled Mia Piccio to show the way in the ladies division as the last year‚s runner-up matched par 72. Crystal Superal came away with a 74 while Malaysian A. Abu Bakar carded a 75.

The top 32 players after two rounds of stroke play in the men’s tournament will advance to the match play phase starting Wednesday while the top 16 players in the ladies side will advance to the match play event.

The 16 survivors in the men’s dispute the quarterfinal berths on Dec. 21 with the winners battling it out in the afternoon match for the semis slots. The semis will be played on Dec. 22 with the finals, a 36-hole affair, slated Dec. 23.