Jay Bayron rallies, Tony Lascuña wavers

TAINAN, Taiwan – On a course where luck could play a big role to one’s title drive, Jay Bayron got right into the mix with some clutch shots and putts, bucking an early fumble with five birdies to shoot a 68 and trail Taiwanese-American Lein Benjamin by three in the $100,000 Nan Pao TPGA (PGA of Taiwan) Open yesterday.

Tony Lascuña earlier turned a potential closing birdie into a bogey that ruined his bid to better Bayron’s output, but his 69 also proved to be an inspiring start for the Filipino bets, who stayed in early contention in a day of torrid scoring where eagles flew and birdies soared despite the tight Nan Pao layout’s unpredictable, undulating surface.

But while the in-form Lascuña, with a string of runner-up finish on the Philippine Golf Tour the last two months, including a pro-am win here Wednesday, expected to shoot low in hot conditions, Bayron said he was lucky to rebound from a bogey start where he flubbed a three-footer for par on the first hole but birdied the next and Nos. 8, 9, 13 and 15 for joint 10th in this second Philippine Golf Tour Asia event held here this year.

“I didn’t expect to shoot this low. Given a bad start and the tough greens that were so difficult to read, I considered myself just lucky enough to finish with a 68,” said Bayron, who struggled and wound up tied for 27th in the Daan TPGA Open in Taichung last May.

With a four-under card after 17 holes, Lascuña went for a birdie after a solid drive on his closing par-5 544-yard hole on No. 9, using his driver again from 297 yards out. But he didn’t hit it the way he had wanted, the ball fading then finding it later on a plugged lie just before the large pond fronting the green.

He came up short on his third shot, hit it over the green on the next before drilling a five-footer for bogey, one of two blue marks in an otherwise remarkable 36-33 card that dropped him to joint eighth after holding the joint No. 2 spot on the leaderboard with an eight-foot birdie on the par-3 third hole.

“I was really targeting a five- or six-under start and was on target despite missing some birdie chances. But I failed to hit right on my second shot on the ninth,” said Lascuña, who sizzled early in hot conditions with tap-in birdies on Nos. 10 and 12 then bounced back from a missed green mishap on No. 14 with birdies on the next two holes, including another “gimme” on the par-5 16th.

Fil-Am Sean Talmadge finished with six three-putts but still salvaged a 72 for a spot at 47th and nurtured hopes for a spot in the weekend play of the event featuring the leading players on the PGTA and TPGA.