Alido trails Thais by 6 after 69 in Laguna Phuket Open

MANILA, Philippines – Ira Alido blew a searing backside start and a big frontside fightback with two bogeys in the last six holes, ending up with a one-under 69 and trailing clubhouse leaders Thais Atiruj Winaicharoenchai and Nopparat Panichphol by six at the start of the Laguna Phuket Open in Thailand Thursday.

Alido served notice of his bid early in the THB4 million championship kicking off this year’s Asian Development Tour by birdying the two of the first three holes from No. 9 of the Laguna Golf Phuket course and picking up another stroke on No. 14. But he double bogeyed the next and yielded another shot on the 16th to go back to level par at the par-70 layout.

But the two-time Philippine Golf Tour winner birdied the first hole and hit a pitch-in eagle on the par-4 No. 3, only to bogey the next and No. 7 and settle for a 33-36.

He slipped from joint 14th to a share of 38th but still emerged the top scorer from among the five Filipinos vying in the 72-hole championship.

Clyde Mondilla, the former Philippine Open champion, gunned down two birdies each on both nines but hobbled with the same number of bogeys for a 72 and a share of 54th, while Angelo Que submitted a pair of 36s for a 72 to drop to joint 97th.

James Ryan Lam matched Alido’s fiery start with birdies on Nos. 10, 11 and 13 but bogeyed Nos. 15 and 17 before mixing a birdie on No. 1 with a bogey on the fifth when the first round was halted on account of darkness.

Justin Quiban also had a three-over card with one hole left.

Winaicharoenchai and Panichphol, meanwhile, matched seven-under 63 cards in similar fashions with the former banking on a solid five-birdie splurge at the front to string a 29-34 round and the latter birdying the last three holes at the front for a 30 and a 33.

They led compatriot Arnond Vongvanij, who fired a solid 64, by one while Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij, Nirun Sae-ueng and Warun Ieamgaew all shot 65s to underscore the locals’ domination of the event.