The Duel all square after 8 matches

The North, starring two unheralded tandems in the afternoon foursomes yesterday,  forged a 4-4 standoff with the South after Day 1 of The Duel at Ayala Alabang Golf Club course.

Randy Garalde and Ryan Lam won, 2-up, by taking three of the last four holes against Zannie Boy Gialon and Elmer Saban and Carl Santos-Ocampo and Edward Reyes hammered out a 1-up victory over Ferdie Aunzo and Jay Bayron  in the Ryder Cup-style event.

It was a day of unexpected results as the South also scored two surprise wins, including a 4 and 3 rout by  the pair of Jonel Ababa and Charles Hong over the favored Angelo Que-Miguel Tabuena combine that actually gave the defending champions a 2-0 lead.

Matches today will be bestball in the morning and alternate shot in the afternoon before play shifts to the much-awaited 12 singles matches tomorrow.

Last year, the North posted a 9-7 lead going into the final day only to win just three singles matches and  allowed the South to clinch the title.

Antonio Lascuña and Clyde Mondilla, a good mix of experience and power for the South, finished with 1.5 points yesterday and both are expected to again be tapped by skipper Jerome Delariarte.

Lascuña, last year’s Order of Merit winner, and Mondilla ripped Michael Bibat and Jun Bernis, 4 & 3 in the morning before splitting the point with the Que-Mars Pucay team in the afternoon.

“Like what I have been saying before the start (of the event), both teams are evenly matched,” said Que, the recent Orchard leg champion of the ICTSI Tour. “It will be more of the same in the next two days.”

The event is being backed by KIA, Ping, Nike Golf, Custom Clubmakers, Mizuno, Pacsports, Callaway, Cleveland, FootJoy, Srixon, Titleist, Empire Golf and Sports Shop and Sharp.

Tabuena, the only teener in the event, was actually scoreless for the day, as his teamup with Reyes also lost, 4 & 3, to the Juvic Pagunsan-Rufino Bayron partnership

Que-Pucay couldn’t seal the deal against Lascuña-Mondilla, losing a 1-up lead on the 18th when Que missed a 20-footer for birdie.