Eagle-aided 69 propels Aussie to ICTSI lead

FREDRICK Park, the Australian who has had more failure than success this season, fired an eagle-spiked three-under-par 69 for a one-shot lead over two local veterans after the rain-delayed first round of the ICTSI Tournament Players Championship at Wack Wack East yesterday.

The left-handed rookie, who missed the cut in the Aboitiz Invitational over the same tree-lined layout last month, holed a 185-yard second shot on the long 12th hole to spike a 36-33 effort and lead the legendary Frankie Miñoza and Elmer Salvador.

Miñoza, who won his second Philippine Open in 2007 at the East course, had four birdies against two bogeys, while Salvador had a roller-coaster round of seven birdies and five bogeys.

Antonio Lascuña assembled a 71 like Randy Garalde, Ryan Lam and Senior Tour-bound Cassius Casas even as Jay Bayron, the prohibitive favorite coming into the event, started out with a limp for a 78, needing a truly low second round today to make weekend play.

Lascuña, who will win a fourth Order of Merit title in five years with at least a fourth place finish here, needed to birdie the final two holes to salvage his sub-par card, while Casas could have gone lower if not for a double bogey 7 on the 13th.

Miñoza and Salvador held the clubhouse lead before rain halted play for close to an hour. Park returned to smoke the back nine where he had that eagle and two birdies.

Salvador’s final bogey came on the 18th, when he hit his approach short and failed to get up-and-down.

“It’s a pity, I could have gained a share of the lead,” the taciturn Salvador said in Filipino, referring to the closing hole miscue. “I had a good start, and just couldn’t sustain it.”