3 RP bets share lead in Indo Am

MANILA, Philippines - Zanie Gialon, Dante Becierra and Chihiro Ikeda turned in contrasting rounds but produced the same results, gaining a share of the lead in their respective divisions in the 30th Indonesia Men’s and Ladies Amateur Open at the Damai Indah Golf Club in Jakarta late Wednesday.

Gialon, who fumbled with a 78 in the first round, nearly blew a sterling round with a triple-bogey mishap on the par-3 No. 15, finishing with day’s best score of four-under 68 to force a three-way tie for first at 146 halfway through the 72-hole men’s championship.

Becierra, the former Hong Kong Amateur Open champion, matched par 72 to join Gialon, one of the new faces on the ICTSI golf team, and local bet Hardjito, carding a 73, at the helm.

Indonesians Soeprapto and Benny Kasiadi faltered with a pair of 76s and slid to fourth and fifth with 148 and 149, respectively, while Peter Villaber, the former national team mainstay, carded rounds of 77 and 76 to fall to 11th with a 153.

So impressive was Gialon’s round that he made seven birdies in the first 14 holes before dropping three shots on the 15th when he dumped his tee-shot into the pond and three-putted.

Ikeda, meanwhile, set the ICTSI-Philippines’ sweep bid in motion as she carded a three-over 75 on the hazard-laden layout to join local bets Juriah and Dea Mahendra in the lead at the start of the 54-hole ladies championship.

Ikeda, priming up for next month’s SEA Games in Laos, is chasing her seventh victory in the season after ruling the DHL Open, the Optimist International in Florida, the FCWT leg in the US, the Hong Kong Amateur Ladies Open and the Cangolf Am and the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau International Amateur Open, also in Hong Kong.

Sarah Ababa stood two shots of Ikeda and two others with a 77 in a tie for fourth with Dita Widyantari and Putri Amani.