Lois Kaye Go.–CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
LJ Go and Lois Kaye Go, siblings groomed for pro careers in Cebu, stood out on a humid yet wind-swept Tuesday after hot starts in the men’s and ladies divisions of the ICTSI Palos Verdes Championship in Davao.
A former national champion, LJ gunned down five birdies in a flawless five-under-par 67 to share the lead with Sean Ramos after the opening round of the P2.5 million men’s event, while Lois Kaye rescued a 37-35 round with a birdie on No. 12 for a one-shot lead in the 54-hole ladies event.
“I played very good out there, didn’t make any bogeys and made a lot of up-and-downs (for pars),” said LJ, who highlighted his 35-32 round with a chip-in for birdie on the par-3 17th. “That’s practically a two-shot swing for me.”
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Jonel Ababa, who ruled the Apo Golf stop last week, struggled like so many of the big guns, shooting a 76 which would need him to go low in the second round to make the cut and matter in the money rounds later this week.
Ramos actually started out slow, dropping a shot on the second hole. He then hit six birdies the rest of the way for his most impressive opening as a pro.
There were 14 sub-par cards in the men’s division, with former national team member Ira Alido and Emilio Panimdim Jr. shooting 68s to be shot behind the joint leaders.
The most fancied bet who broke par was Guido van der Valk of The Netherlands, a 70 leaving him just three shots down over a type of course he knows how to play, even as multi-Asian Tour leg winner Angelo Que assembled a 72 to be in the early mix, with Antonio Lascuña another shot behind in another big group that shot 73s.
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“A double bogey start dictated how my day went,” Ababa said in Filipino as he played the front nine in 40. He had just one birdie, which came on No. 15.
Lois Kaye, meanwhile, was genuinely surprised to have the lead in just her second pro event, considering how she played at Apo last week.
She has a one-shot lead over the seasoned Chihiro Ikeda and another stroke on the duo of Florence Bisera and Mikha Fortuna.
“I’m glad. It’s been a while since I have been in this position,” Lois Kaye said. “I still have no expectations for the rest of the week. I will just stick to my game plan and see what happens.” INQ