Philippines starts strong in Nomura Cup

MANILA, Philippines — Team Philippines put itself in championship mix of the 31st Nomura Cup, as Rolando Bregente and Jet Hernandez combined for a two-under-par 142 aggregate to be tied with powerhouse Japan, just two shots behind surprise first-round leader Hong Kong China at Bayhood No. 9 Golf Club in Beijing, China.

Having the reputation to start out fast and shoot low, Bregente gunned down four birdies in shooting a three-under-par 69 and was left to rue Hernandez’ struggles on the greens on the way to a respectable 73, even as Shin Suzuki failed to count after firing a 75.

The Filipinos moved ahead of the leaderboard against traditional powers China, Australia, Thailand and defending champion Vietnam.

“This only confirms the thoughts of the team that we really have a solid shot at winning this,” the 24-year-old Bregente said in Filipino. His only bogey came on the 16th, when he three-putted from about 25 feet. “The greens are the main defense of the course, and I saw Jet (Hernandez) struggle with his putting.”

Jeffrey Shen and Markus Zachary Lam returned 70s to comprise the scoring for HK-China.