TAGAYTAY—Elmer Salvador gunned down eight birdies to set a new course record of 7-under-par 65 and take a three-stroke lead over two other fancied best after the first round of the ICTSI Splendido Classic here.
The former Philippine Open champion assembled a 33-32 card despite a bogey on the closing par-5 18th hole and settled for a three-shot lead over the ageless Frankie Miñoza and Antonio Lascuña.
Salvador, who finished in a 21st place tie in the $300,000 Solaire Open last Sunday, highlighted his round with four straight birdies from No. 13 even as Miñoza also blazed the back nine of the up-and-down, ravine-filled course with a 32.
Lascuña, the back-to-back Order of Merit champion, had nines of 34-34.
Erwin Vinluan, the long-hitting former national team mainstay, shot a 69 like Michael Bibat in the 72-hole event that dangles P270,000 to the champion and backed by Nike Golf, Custom Clubmakers, Titleist, Cleveland, Pacsports, Srixon, Callaway, Sharp and FootJoy.
“I’m just lucky, I guess,” the 43-year-old Salvador, who found the fairway trap off the 18th tee before two-putting, said in Filipino. “I had a good start and it paved the way for the hot round.”
Salvador opened up with a birdie and then closed out his front side with two straight birds before going eight-under overall after the 16th hole.
His hot round reset the 66 set by Miguel Tabuena in the 2012 tournament. Rufino Bayron and Charles Hong fired 70s to be five shots behind, with Clyde Mondilla and Carl Santos-Ocampo leading a huge bunch with 71s.
Tabuena, who tied for seventh with Mondilla as the best-placed Filipinos in the Solaire Open, fired a 72 and was in the company of former Philippine Open champion Robert Pactolerin, Ferdie Aunzo and Micah Shin.
Toru Nakajima fired a 73 like rookie Keanu Jahns and seven others.
Cassius Casas, the winner of the The Country Club Invitational last month, had a triple bogey 8 on No. 2 and a quadruple bogey on the fourth for an 81. He needs to at least reset Salvador’s course record today in order to have a shot at advancing to the weekend play.