Guido tames wind for 3-stroke lead

 STA. ROSA, Laguna, Philippines  – Forced to grind away in severe conditions, Guido Van der Valk did just that – plus more – as the Dutchman hacked out a tough two-under 70 and led Ira Alido by three at the start of The Country Club Invitational at the TCC course here yesterday.

Trading length for accuracy on a long, treacherous course, the Manila-based shotmaker birdied the first two par-5s (No. 2 at 622 yards and No. 8 at 588 yards) but bogeyed the backside’s two par-3s, including the long No. 11 when the wind was at its fiercest, and the signature No. 17 on a three-putt miscue that negated his other birdie from 10 feet on No. 13.

Still, his 34-37 card stood out in hot, blustery conditions on an exacting course where bogeys are the norm rather than the exception, seizing a three-shot cushion over Alido, who stumbled with a double-bogey and three bogeys against three birdies but still good for second spot at 74 in the P5 million event kicking off the 2020 Philippine Golf Tour.

“You never expect to shoot under-par on this course… it’s just so long (7765 yards) and I don’t think any golf course comes close anywhere I had played, so you have to grind away,” said the 40-year-old Van der Valk, who was sixth in this event ruled by absentee Kim Joo Hyung and winner of the Cebu leg, both last year.

“The wind was just unbelievable in the middle round,” said Van der Valk, who actually rode on a scrambling par on the opening hole and a lucky putt from 50 feet out on the second. “When it really got windy, it was almost 3-club adjustments. In the last two holes, it was almost two. It was just unreal.”