American Salah surges ahead by two strokes

Josh Salah of the United States carved out a flawless eight-under-par 63 on Wednesday to take a two-shot lead over unheralded Bacolod native Albin Engino and two other foreigners after the opening round of the ICTSI Forest Hills Championship in Antipolo.

Salah had five of his eight birdies in the front nine, his last nine holes, including four straight from No. 1 as a long break from the Philippine Golf Tour served him well. Itthipat Buranatanyarat of Thailand and South Korean Kim Joo-hyung shot 65s like Engino to trail by two over the well-manicured, up-and-down layout.

Jobim Carlos, who was second to Kim last week, wheeled into contention early with a 66 even as amateur Judeson Eustaquio, the club manager and former US NCAA standout, fired a 67 like Rolando Marabe, Justin Quiban and Arnold Villacencio.

“I just took advantage of the good setup of the course, and the scoring conditions as well,” said Salah.