IN CONDITIONS so demanding, Jay Bayron was dialed in all day and shot a five-under-par 67 to take a two-stroke lead over Marvin Dumandan and American Nicolas Paez after the opening round of the $100,000 Aboitiz Invitational of the Asian Development Tour at Wack Wack East yesterday.
The 37-year-old Bayron, a former caddy of President Duterte at Apo Golf in Davao in the late 1990s, gunned down five of his seven birdies in his first eight holes and conquered the dreaded tree-lined layout which played so tough, it yielded just nine sub-par cards and forced scores in the high-70s.
One of those five early birdies came on the “Camel Back” eighth hole, a 180-yard par-3 that claimed countless chances in past Philippine Opens, as Bayron put his bid in winning this event for the second time in high gear right in the opening round.
Dumandan drained five birdies against two bogeys, while Paez had a 34-35 card.
Singapore’s Johnson Poh and rookie Jobim Carlos shot 70s like Arnold Villacencio and American Blake Snyder to trail Bayron by three even as top local hope Antonio Lascuna shot himself in the foot with a back nine 40 for 76.
“I tried feeling my way around the course, being patient,” said Bayron, who finished second to the United States’ Berry Henson in the 2011 Philippine Open, in Filipino. “I played it shot by shot and went for birdies when there was a good chance for them.”
Bayron won the inaugural staging of this event also in 2011, when he outdueled close buddy Juvic Pagunsan to win by a shot at The Country Club. Zannie Boy Gialon and Jonathan Woo of Singapore were the last two to crack par, firing 71s.