Mizuno paces Fil-Am Invit'l

BAGUIO, Philippines – Skipper King Stehmeier came through with a solid even par 61 worth 36 points as Mizuno took charge with a 128 at the start of the Fil-Am Invitational golf tournament at the short but tricky Baguio Country Club here yesterday.

Stehmeier hit two birdies against two bogeys while making pars the last five holes to power Mizuno to a three-point lead over Seabridge Che’Lus1 as defending champion Forest Hills and fancied Manila Southwoods struggled in the opener of the centerpiece Fil Championsip event.

Richard Joson scored 33 points under the Stableford scoring format while former pro Vince Lauron added a 31 and one of the 28s by Rodel Mangulabnan or Park Jung-soo counted in the five-to-play, four-to-count format event.

Seabridge, backstopped by players from Guam, tallied a 125 as Mike Castro and Louie Sunga carded 35 and 34 points, respectively.

Daryl Po and Ray Blas, however, struggled with 28 points apiece while Karl Pangilinan didn’t count with a 22.

“It’s not a big advantage but we’re happy to come out on top. BCC’s layout is as tough as ever. Our target now is to increase it further before action shifts to the longer Camp John Hay course,” said Stehmeier.

Baguio City Golf Team II assembled 116 to grab third place while Forest Hills Nicklaus groped for form with a 113 and stood 15 points behind Mizuno.

Batangas Barakos pooled a 111 for fifth while seven-time champion Southwoods and Camp John Hay Golf Club submitted identical 110s.