Malaysians storm ahead by 2 shots

But Local teams keep chief rivals within sight

GENERAL TRIAS, Cavite, Philippines — Idris Ngah turned in a show-stealing performance as Malaysia jumped the gun on host Philippines at the start of the 34th Asean Senior Amateur Golf Championships, posting a 236 and seizing a two-stroke lead yesterday at Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club’s Aoki course here.

With his driving and putting clicking, Ngah humbled a field that generally struggled on the lengthy par-72 course and submitted a 71 built around nines of 34-37 to lift the Malaysian team to the top under the  stroke play team gross format.

Ngah, a former golf general manager who’s now into landscaping back home, was complemented by Dato’ Dzaamoddin Salleh and Datuk AS Khamis who posted 79 and 86, respectively.

The Filipinos fell two strokes behind after a 238 led by Rodel Mangulabnan’s 76. Edgar Quiao backed him up with a 77 while Eduardo Sison submitted an 85. Ed Manzanares struggled with an 88 and didn’t count.

“The course is very long and the greens are hard to read,” said Mangulabnan, who had three three-putts early on. “I usually hit better than this. I just struggled in putting but I’ll bounce back tomorrow,”

Mangulabnan, who opened with four-over at the front but parred the last nine holes, admitted Ngah was a cut above the rest yesterday.

“Ngah is good, he out-drove me easily by 20 yards but the best thing was his putting; he sank some long putts,” he said.

Brunei ranked third after Day One with 247 with Chris Tay leading with a 79 followed by Thailand (249) and Singapore (253).

The field had difficulty dealing with the length of the course as organizers used the gold instead of white tees in compliance with the required 6,400 yardage.

The Filipinos seek to do better when action in the three-day tournament shifts to the Norman course today.

“It’s just a two-stroke difference; we have a very good chance to come back as we expect our top guns like Sison and Manzanares to deliver their usual numbers tomorrow (today),” said Lino Magpantay, who himself shot an 83.

Meanwhile, Singapore took the lead in the Stroke Play Team Net plum with a 213 anchored on the 69s of Dicky Tan Ee Seng and Ricky Seah Lam Kok and the 75 of Rusly Sjaichudin to lead Malaysia (221) and the Philippines (226).