Pauline del Rosario carded a one-over 73 and stood three strokes off local ace Nur Durriyah Damian in the first round of the 32nd Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open at Templer Park Country Club in Kuala Lumpur late Tuesday.
Del Rosario, who helped Team Philippines to a silver medal finish in the 37th Queen Sirikit Cup in Hong Kong last Saturday, struggled in the early going but settled down at the back to finish with two bogeys against a birdie at the tough layout.
Her 37-36 card put the top ICTSI-The Country Club bet in joint second with Indonesian Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri, trailing Damian, who went on a fast start of three birdies against a bogey for that 70.
Del Rosario teammates Abby Arevalo and Sam Martirez struggled with 78s to fall to joint 21st in the 54-hole tournament.