JAY Bayron, seeking to snap a long winless spell, opened his ICTSI Summit Point Classic bid Tuesday with a sizzling 7-under-par 65 for a one-shot lead over two unheralded bets in Lipa City.
Bayron birdied three of his last five holes to breeze past clubhouse leaders Rico Depilo and Fil-German Keanu Jahns, who turned in 66s, with a troika of veterans led by Jonel Ababa another shot off.
Jahns, a former standout for Alabang in the PAL Interclub, birdied four of his first seven holes starting from the back nine.
A former Aboitiz Invitational champion and winner of several legs in the local circuit, Bayron has been knocking on the door of a first win for the season after posting eight Top 10 finishes.
His only bogey for the day came on the par-5 ninth, where he missed the green and flubbed a six-foot putt for par.
Depilo duplicated the finest start of his pro career with a bogey-less round.
Orlan Sumcad, the long-hitter out of nearby Mount Malarayat, also fired a 67 to tie Ababa and Korean Park Jun-hyeok even as Rufino Bayron shot a 68.
Antonio Lascuña and Elmer Salvador returned 69s while Miguel Tabuena, just in his second tournament since coming back from a vacation in the United States, birdied two of his last five holes to rescue a 71. Guido Van der Valk of The Netherlands and former leg winner Arnold Villacencio were also in the company of Tabuena. Musong R. Castillo