KUALA LUMPUR —Angelo Que rode a brilliant start to shoot a 5-under-par 67 and trail leader Rikard Karlberg of Sweden by two strokes after the first round of the $7-million CIMB Classic on Thursday.
The Filipino star, loser in a playoff for the Hong Kong Open championship just two weeks ago, gunned down six birdies against a bogey for a 31 on the front nine at the West course of Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club before closing with a 36 in the rich event sanctioned by the PGA Tour and Asian Tour.
Que shared second with Americans Billy Hurley III and Brian Stuard with Davis Love III carding a 68 and top favorite Sergio Garcia of Spain shooting a 69.
Karlberg also turned in a 31 on the front in firing a flawless 65. He nailed five birdies, including a chip-in on No. 8.
Antonio Lascuña, the only other Filipino in the field who is ranked No. 5 in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, shot a 72.
“I think I’m just doing things right which is trusting myself,” said Que. “Previously, every time I teed it up, I was still debating what to do, what kind of shot I was going to hit. I’ve just been sticking to my game plan the past few weeks, and every time I have a shot, I commit to it, trusting it.”
Nicknamed by friends as the Human Highlighter because of his bright attires, Que peppered the pins with some wonderful iron shots where the longest birdie putt was from five feet. Asian Tour News