Returning Que ties Gialon, Ababa at 67

GEN. TRIAS, Cavite, Philippines — In his return to the Philippine Golf Tour, Angelo Que didn’t disappoint as well as Zanieboy Gialon and Jhonnel Ababa as the troika fired identical 67s for a one-stroke lead over Tony Lascuña at the start of the ICTSI Eagle Ridge at Aoki Invitational yesterday.

Michael Bibat cleared the par-4 No. 5 off the mound and banged in a 10-foot putt for eagle and went on to fire a 69 for joint fifth with Anthony Fernando, Lloyd Go and Gerald Rosales.

Reymon Jaraula, Mars Pucay and Orlan Sumcad matched 70s under the lift, clean and place format in this P2-million championship serving as the fourth leg of this year’s circuit put up by ICTSI.

Ira Alido, Eric Gallardo, Frankie Miñoza, Sean Ramos, Guido Van der Valk, Dino Villanueva and Juvic Pagunsan carded identical 71s while Jerson Balasabas, Rico Depilo, Marvin Dumandan and Rupert Zaragosa matched par 72s to set the stage for a spirited chase in the next three days.

In the women’s side offering a total purse of P1.5 million, Harmie Constantino and Chihiro Ikeda holed out with birdies on opposite nines and saved one-under par 71s to force a three-way tie for the lead with Sarah Ababa.

As fancied Chanelle Avaricio floundered with a wobbly backside start, Constantino bounced back from back-to-back bogeys from No. 14 with two birdies in the last three holes for a 35-36 while Ikeda, playing in a separate flight, birdied the ninth on her way home to turn in her own version of a 35-36 round marked by an eagle on the par-5 No. 16.

Ababa, who snapped a string of mediocre finishes on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour with a joint runner-up effort with Ikeda at Splendido Taal last month, appeared headed to wresting solo control with a three-birdie, one-bogey card after 15 holes from the back.

But she missed the eighth green and failed to return a six-footer for par, leading to a 36-35 and enabling Constantino and Ikeda to make it a three-way fight in the early going of the 54-hole championship.

They opened a two-stroke lead over amateur Mikha Fortuna, who bogeyed the 18th to fall two strokes behind at 73 in a tie with Apple Fudolin. Korean Juyoung Yang blew a one-under card after six holes with four bogeys in the last 10 as she limped with a 75.

Que outgunned Pagunsan and Van der Valk in the featured flight with a scorching start of four birdies in the first six holes. He failed to return a six-footer for par on the par-3 No. 7 but snapped a run of pars with birdies on Nos. 14 and 16 to turn in the day’s last five-under card in overcast skies.

“Drove it really well but still missed few putts as the greens were pretty tricky,” said Que, who actually muffed a four-footer for birdie on the first hole after Pagunsan rolled in his own bid from 40 feet out to open their highly anticipated duel.

But the three-time Asian Tour champion birdied the second, again from close range, and picked up three straight strokes from No. 4 to seize command at four-under with Ababa in a flight ahead.