INQUIRER Sports

TAGAYTAY CITY—The Mercedes-Benz Masters Philippines field frolicked under ideal playing conditions at the Tagaytay Midlands layout here Thursday with Mars Pucay firing a record seven-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead over a Thai.

The 38-year-old from Baguio City hit all fairways and gunned down eight birdies and had just one hiccup in a rousing start that Wisut Artjunawat of Thailand almost matched in the $50,000 event.

“My game is improving every year,” Pucay, a former driving range tee boy, said. “My hard work is paying off, especially in the short game. We (players) just made the most out of the ideal conditions out there.”

The players were allowed to lift, clean and place their balls with rains forecast for the week. But there wasn’t a single drop of rain and the winds did not blow during the round, leaving the short par-72 course at the mercy of the crack field.

Former Thailand amateur ace Artjunawat, the 2004 Putra Cup individual titlist in Indonesia, had a flawless 66 in one of the early flights with countryman Panuwat Muenlek and Filipino journeyman Edwin Sanchez finishing just a stroke behind with 67s.

A total of 24 players cracked par and another eight matched it to pave the way for one of the lowest halfway cuts in the short history of the fledging ASEAN Tour.

Pucay, who won twice in this circuit last year and who came into this tournament trailing Angelo Que by a slight margin in the Order of Merit, played with laser-like precision, putting his drives where he needed them and sticking approaches close to the flags.

His longest birdie putt came from just about 12 feet with his only bogey resulting from a three-putt from 30 feet on the 11th hole. He played his final seven holes at three-under.

The first professional tournament in this sprawling layout was held in 2003 with the First Gentleman’s Cup. Sweet-swinging Rey Pagunsan won that event, using a first-round 67—the record that Pucay broke—to build some distance on the field.

“But it was a different case then, because the winds were blowing hard at that time,” said Pagunsan, who had a 68 this time.

Que, the reigning Philippine Open champion, also turned in a bogey-less 68.

Former Asian Tour Rookie of the Year Juvic Pagunsan, one of the favored locals in the 107-strong field, shot a 70 despite a triple bogey 7 on the 13th hole, where a wayward drive resulted in an unplayable lie.

Sukree Othman of Malaysia also pooled a 68 even as Antonio Lascuña, a former winner of the rich The Country Club Invitational and a regular Asian Tour campaigner, assembled a 69 like Thailand’s Kiradech Apibarnrat.

First round scores: (Filipino unless stated)
65—M. Pucay 31-34; 66—W. Artjanawat (Tha) 34-32; 67—P. Muenlek (Tha) 34-33, E. Sanchez 35-32; 68—A. Que 34-34, R. Pagunsan 33-35, S. Othman (Mal), M. S. Othman (Mal) 33-35; 69—A. Lascuña 35-34, K. Aphibarnrat (Tha) 34-35; 70 P. Kemarat (Tha) 35-35, J. Delariarte 36-34, M. Hussein (Mal) 34-36, J. Pagunsan 33-37, J. Pongthep (Tha) 33-37, J. Ronnachai (Tha) 34-36; 71—B. Magada 36-35, D. Zarate 35-36, J. Bayron 36-35, S. Srisanga (Tha) 37-34, E. Quiachon 35-36, B. Chaisri 35-36, J. Abdon (Am) 37-34.