2005 Philippine Open - Round 1: Buckle into lead with 66

Australian rookie Andrew Buckle fired a five-under-par 66 to grab the first round lead in the US$200,000 Philippine Open on Thursday with local hero Angelo Que in the chasing pack.

The 22-year-old former Australian amateur champion, fresh from a tied second finish at the SK Telecom Open in Korea two weeks ago, was in impressive form at the par-71 Mt Malayarat Golf and Country Club and ended the day one stroke ahead of Somkiet Srisanga of Thailand.

Filipino favourite Que and amateur star Juvic Pagunsan, last year's runner-up, led the home charge with matching 68s to share third place with American Bryan Saltus, Scotland's John Wither and Australian duo Chris Travers and Adam Blyth in the Asian Tour event.

Big-hitting Buckle started his round from the 10th tee and caught fire on 17, knocking his approach close to the pin for an easy tap-in birdie. A two-putt birdie on the par five 18th saw him turn in two under before he sank a monster 30-footer on the first hole for his third straight birdie. The Aussie then rattled in birdies on the fifth and seventh holes to end the day atop the leaderboard.

"I played well, it was a good solid round. Finishing second in Korea was good for the confidence," said Buckle, who is playing in his first season in Asia. "I'm trying to keep improving all the time. I was a bit tired last week in Macau (to miss the cut) but I like the course here this week."

Que, who broke through last season with his maiden Asian Tour success at the Carlsberg Masters Vietnam, had three birdies and an eagle as his bid for the Philippine Open title got off to a solid start.

"My putting was good today. I just told myself to relax a bit more on the putting greens and it worked. It's a good start but to tell you the truth, I was shaking the whole day. I was very nervous out there as there is a lot pressure," said Que, who was a member of the victorious Asian team that beat Japan in the Visa Dynasty Cup last month.

Pagunsan kept Que for company at the top of the leaderboard with six birdies in his round while former champion Gerald Rosales, who lost his Asian Tour card last season, started strongly as well with a 69.

Thai veteran Boonchu Ruangkit, India's rising star Shiv Kapur, Malaysia's Airil Rizman, Felix Casas of the Philippines and American veteran Scott Taylor were bunched together on 70.

The 89th Philippine Open is Asia's oldest national Championship.

Leading first round scores
66 - Andrew Buckle (AUS)
67 - Somkiet Srisanga (THA)
68 - Bryan Saltus (USA), Chris Travers (AUS), Adam Blyth (AUS), Juvic Pagunsan [A] (PHI), Angelo Que (PHI), John Wither (SCO)
69 - Sung Mao-chang (TPE), Koji Katoh (JPN), Gerald Rosales (PHI), Darren Griff (CAN), Ron Won (USA), Chris Rodgers (ENG)
70 - Boonchu Ruangkit (THA), Shiv Kapur (IND), Airil Rizman Zahari (MAS), Scott Taylor (USA), Felix Casas (PHI), Jarrod Lyle (AUS), Rey Pagunsan (PHI)
71 - James Stewart (HKG), Jochen Lupprian (GER), Jamnian Chitprasong (THA), Lee Seong-ki (KOR), Richard Backwell (AUS), Hisaki Takeuchi (JPN), Atthaphon Prathummanee (THA), Rick Gibson (CAN), Hironori Yoshida (JPN), Adam Le Vesconte (AUS), Gilberto Morales (VEN),
Hsieh Tung-shu (TPE), Ming Gyu-Cho [A] (KOR)
72 - Keith Horne (RSA), Tony Lascuna (PHI), Marciano Pucay (PHI), Alejandro Cruz (PHI), Arjun Singh (IND), Alejandro Quiroz (MEX), Paul Spargo (AUS), Jason Dawes (AUS), Ross Bain (SCO), Udorn Duangdecha (THA), Vivek Bhandari (IND), Jun Bernis [A] (PHI), Ebarra Quiachon (PHI), R. Nachimuthu (MAS), Anura Rohana (SRI), Danny Chia (MAS), Derek Fung (HKG), Chris Gill (ENG), David Gleeson (AUS), Jonathan O'Sullivan (AUS)

May 19, 2005

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