Dutch Guido Van der Valk defied the strong winds and bucked a two-stroke penalty for hitting a wrong ball to tally a four-under-par 68 and post a two-shot lead over Keannu Jahns in The Country Club Invitational at the TCC course in Sta. Rosa, Laguna on Wednesday.
A perennial contender but never a winner on local soil, Van der Valk made six birdies to compensate for the 6 he got on No. 15 after he accidentally struck Orlan Sumcad’s ball from almost the same position as his approach shot. He made a rehit and two-putted for double-bogey,
“I played really good, almost,” Van der Valk said, ruing his miscue. He, however, birdied three of the four par-5s and added three more, including the closing hole, in the P5-million event kicking off this year’s Philippine Golf Tour, the Ladies PGT and PGT Asia.
Jahns, a Fil-German, rode on three-birdies in a five-hole stretch from No. 8 then likewise birdied the 18th to make up for his bogeys on Nos. 13 and 16 and card a 70.
Defending champion Miguel Tabuena had a rollercoaster round of four birdies against three bogeys to claim third spot at 71 . —ROY LUARCA