Ramil Bisera birdied his last four holes and shot a 4-under-par 68 like Jay Bayron and Micah Shin Wednesday after the first 18 holes of the P1.5 million ICTSI Apo Golf Invitational in Davao.
The long-hitting Bisera, one of the talents to come out of the host layout but has been winless for more than a decade now, came up with his finest opening-round effort in the local tour with his blazing finish.
The trio held a one-stroke lead over Korean Anthony Kim, Nilo Salahog, Miguel Tabuena and Antonio Lascuña.
Bayron couldn’t grab the solo lead after dropping a shot on the ninth—his last hole—while Shin, an American-Korean who developed his game at the tree-lined layout, birdied the par-5 18th to grab a piece of top spot.
Long shots Rico Depilo and Allan Remata fired 71s to trail by three strokes with the ageless Frankie Miñoza matching par like fellow former Philippine Open champion Robert Pactolerin.
Clyde Mondilla also shot a 72.
Bisera, whose best finish in the last three legs was a tie for 29th, struggled in his first nine holes, gunning down his first birdie on the dogleg right 10th and playing his last nine at four-under.
“It (strong finish) was unexpected,” Bisera said in Filipino. “The birdies just came and I am very happy to be tied for the lead.”