Ramos,3 others share lead at Cangolf

MANILA, Philippines — Titleholder Sean Ramos holed out with a bogey to settle for a one-over 73 and drop to a crowded leaderboard at the start of the 19th Canlubang Amateur Open at Cangolf’s South course in Laguna yesterday.

Ramos, priming up for the SEA Games in December, birdied the par-3 17th to draw level par but stumbled at the finish, enabling Dan Cruz and Jhondie Quibol of Luisita and Apo Golf’s Ronel Tagaan to share the lead, one stroke ahead of Luisita’s Elee Bisera and Southwoods’ Jung Jae Hyun, who shot identical 74s.

Miguel Ilas of Alabang and Ramos’ fellow Orchard mainstays Kim Tae Soo and Anthony See struggled but stayed in the mix with similar 75s in the three-day tournament sponsored by the National Golf Association of the Philippiens and backed by hole-in-one sponsor The Turf Company and Texas Eagle (golf cars and utility vehicle).

Josh Jorge, also playing out of Southwoods, failed to recover from a triple-bogey mishap on the first hole and wound up with a 78 in a tie with Orchard’s Joaquin Gomez while Nomads’ Alonso Yu wavered with a 79 and Lloyd Labrador, also from Apo Golf, groped for an 80 and lay seven shots off the leaders in the event supported by Silver backers PacSports Phils., Inc., MegaFiber, Bedarra Holdings, Inc. and Aspire by Filinvest with MUST Consultancy and Emdee Chem Marketing Corp. as Bronze sponsors.

Tagaan actually seized control with a two-under card after 11 holes but bogeyed three of the last seven holes to enable Ramos, Cruz and Quibol to gain a piece of first day honors.

Cruz birdied No. 3 to take command early but dropped a stroke on the ninth and put to naught another birdie feat on No. 12 with a disastrous double-bogey miscue on the 17th.