Tim Stewart gains control with 63; Charles Hong, Angelo Que lurk

CARMONA, Cavite, Philippines — Aussie Tim Stewart launched his drive for a Philippine Golf Tour Asia breakthrough in a fashion befitting his 6-foot-6 frame – firing a whopping eight-under 63 but barely holding off a late rally by two local aces in an explosive start to the ICTSI Manila Southwoods Championship at the Legends course here yesterday.

Charles Hong shot five birdies, including three straight from No. 15, at the back where he teed off in one of the late flights then added three more at the front to tie Stewart at eight-under. But the Cebuano shotmaker, who last won at Luisita in 2015, hit the fairway bunker on his drive on the ninth, dumped his approach shot on the left greenside bunker and muffed a nine-footer for par.

He holed out with his lone bogey that marred an otherwise solid round and dropped to solo second at 64 while Angelo Que overcame a struggle on a couple of par-3s on a course he calls home, hitting six birdies and an eagle as the duo put themselves in the mix after the foreign aces dominated the leaderboard of the $100,000 event put up by ICTSI early on.

“I failed to read clearly my line of putt,” rued Hong, chasing his fourth championship overall.

Que, coming in straight from the Japan PGA Tour to help backstop the local challenge against a host of foreign aces in this third leg of the third season of the Philippine Golf Tour Asia, opened with a bogey on No. 3 and dropped another stroke on No. 16 but eagled the par-5 No. 8 and came through with six birdies, the last on the 18th that put him in a six-way tie at 65 with American Lexus Keoninh, Thai Tawit Polthai, and Macedonia’s Peter Stojanovski, who all carded 33-32s, Justin Quiban and Chris Hichman of the US, who also charged late with three birdies in row at the front to string a 31-34 card.

Stewart, who failed to cash in on his power at the tight, short Sta. Barbara layout and ended up joint 12th in the ICTSI Iloilo Golf Challenge of the PGT two weeks ago, kicked off his bid at the back with three straight birdies and closed it out in the same fashion – birdying the last three for a 33-30 card that also included a three-birdie effort in a four-hole stretch from No. 14.

He did fumble with a bogey on the slightly dog-leg right par-4 No. 4 but more than made up for the slip with those birdies in the last three from short range spiked by powerful drives and superb approach shots, taking command by two over the strongest cast ever assembled thus far in the three-year-old circuit backed by PLDT Enterprise, Meralco, BDO and PGT Asia official apparel Pin High.