A late bogey was the only thing that kept Rufino Bayron from grabbing the solo lead.
Rufino Bayron tumbled with a late bogey and dropped to a tie with three foreign aces at the start of the ICTSI Pradera Verde Classic in Lubao, Pampanga.
They all carded four-under-par 68s for a one-stroke lead over six others in the tournament serving as seventh leg of the Philippine Golf Tour Asia.
Bucking the heat and the wind that bedeviled the pre-tournament favorites, Bayron had a missed-green bogey on No. 16 for a pair of 34s that enabled Aussies Andrew Campbell and David Gleeson and American Lexus Keoninh to catch up.
Trailing them at 69 were Jay Bayron, James Ryan Lam, Orlan Sumcad, Americans John Michael O’Toole and Nicolas Paez and Dutch Guido Van der Valk.
Jobim Carlos and Keanu Jahns tallied 70s at the 7315-yard flat layout, towing Jhonnel Ababa, last week’s winner at Eagle Ridge, and Riviera titlist Clyde Mondilla, who landed at 71 with Korean Jun Sung Park and American Josh Salah.
The three other PGTA leg winners found Pradera’s length too tough to overcome with Wack Wack champion Tony Lascuña settling for an even 72 and Splendido winner Rene Menor and CAT Open titlist Justin Quiban settling for 73s.
Jay Bayron birdied three of the last seven holes to join Lam, O’Toole, Paez, Sumcad and Van der Valk at fifth place.