2006 Philippine Open - Round 1: Strange leads in tough scoring conditions

Australian Scott Strange showed his fondness for Wack Wack Golf and Country Club's East course when he fired a four-under-par 68 for the first round lead at the Philippine Open on Thursday.

The 29-year-old heads the Asian Tour event by one stroke from a packed leaderboard led by the Chinese Taipei duo of Lu Wei-lan and Yeh Chang-ting, who triumphed in Asia's oldest national Open some 13 years ago.

Lu and Yeh fired 69s, matched by newcomers Simon Nash of Australia and former Scottish amateur champion Barry Hume. Cookie Lao carried the local charge with a battling 70 on a tough scoring day to lie two back while compatriots Angelo Que, who was five-under at one stage, settled for a 71 as did former national amateur champion Artemio Murakami.

Manila-based Canadian Rick Gibson, the winner at Wack Wack when the Open was last staged here in 2002, was amongst those who opened their campaigns with a 70.

Only 16 players were under par on a sun-kissed day, with Strange setting the pace with a round that included six birdies against two dropped shots. Although this is his first visit to the Philippines, Strange is feeling right at home at the fabled East course.

"When I won in Myanmar last year, it was on a course with this kind of cowgrass on the fairways. So it's not a problem for me. I played nicely," beamed the Perth-based Strange. "I hit a lot of good shots and kept the ball in play which gave me the chance to throw my wedges at the pins. I finished sixth in Macau last week but made a few silly mistakes. If I keep them off the scorecard I can play pretty good like today."

Strange, currently 16th on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit, was particular pleased to hole a lengthy 30-foot birdie putt at the notorious par three 17th, which has a shallow and turtle-back green. "There was about a 10 foot break on that one," he said. "This hole will decide the Championship. The green is 10 yards wide and into the wind, you're hitting seven or six iron. Your only option is to hit the middle of the green."

Chinese Taipei's Lu was rock steady with four birdies against a bogey as he tamed the breezy afternoon conditions. "It was windy but in Taipei, it's always windy so I am used to these kind of conditions," said Lu, who is bidding for his first Asian Tour title.

A top-10 at the SK Telecom Open in Korea earlier this month and a tied 19th finish in Macau on Sunday have raised Lu's hopes of ending his title drought. "It's my first time to Wack Wack and I like the course. I want to try to win this event."

Scotsman Hume could have tied for the lead if not for a bogey on his 17th hole of the day on the eighth and a missed birdie chance from five feet on his last hole. He said he had a "mental blank" when he stepped up on the eighth tee.

"It's just a disappointing finish. I couldn't remember the eighth hole for the life of me. I didn't know where to hit it. I wrecked my brains to think of the shape of the hole and it really cost me a shot as I hit it too far to the left and was blocked out. But I'll take a 69. In fact I'll take another three 69s out there," said the 24-year-old Hume, who won the Scottish amateur championship in 2001.

The local hopes were carried by the 31-year-old Lao. He sank an eagle on the par five fourth hole by holing a 20 foot putt after finding the green with what he termed "a beautiful shot" with his rescue wood from 234 yards out.

"I'm very pleased with my start. I was just very consistent, hitting my drives well and hitting greens. I wasn't overly aggressive on the putts. I played steady golf for 12 straight pars and hit a beautiful shot with my rescue club for the eagle. I missed an eight foot putt for par on my last hole on the ninth but it's still a good round," said Lao.

He has played on the Asian Tour without much success in recent years but hopes a breakthrough is around the corner. "My best finish was a tie for 23rd in Vietnam last year, nothing great really. Hopefully, this week I can come through. I feel good about this week but tomorrow is another day," said Lao.

New Zealand's Kevin Chun, Jason Dawes of Australia and Englishman Chris Rodgers, winner of the Pakistan Open this season, were the other players who shot 70s. Title holder Adam Le Vesconte of Australia carded a 74.

Leading first round scores

68 - Scott Strange (AUS)

69 - Barry Hume (SCO), Simon Nash (AUS), Yeh Chang-ting (TPE), Lu Wei-lan (TPE)

70 - Kevin Chun (NZL), Cookie Lao (PHI), Jason Dawes (AUS), Chris Rodgers (ENG), Rick Gibson (CAN)

71 - Artemio Murakami (PHI), Angelo Que (PHI), Adam Blyth (AUS), Hsieh Chin-sheng (TPE), Gary Simpson (AUS), Matt Keegan (AUS)

72 - Rashid Ismail (MAS), Jochen Lupprian (GER), Soe Kyaw Naing (MYN), Martin Maritz (RSA), Juvic Pagunsan (PHI), Unho Park (AUS), Anthony Kang (USA), Marciano Pucay (PHI)

73 - Adam Porker (AUS), M. Sasidaran (MAS), Anthony Brown (AUS), Gene Xavier Bondoc [A] (PHI), Henry Perks (AUS), Gary Rusnak (USA), Marvin Dumandan [A] (PHI), Richard Lee (NZL), Jason Knutzon (USA), Alistair Presnell (AUS), Gurbaaz Mann (IND), Takuya Yoshikawa (JPN), Godofredo Sinfuego (PHI), Poh Eng Wah (SIN), Gerald Rosales (PHI), Airil Rizman Zahari (MAS), Marcus Both (AUS), Simon Hurd (ENG), Craig Warren (AUS), Lam Chih Bing (SIN), Danny Zarate (PHI)

May 25, 2006

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