Sato-Badenas Sta. Lucia Tour leader by 3 strokes

BANGKOK—Jufil Sato and Norberto Badenas may be representing a very short golf course but both showed they can also play well in a long one.

Carrying the colors of the 9-hole Royale Tagaytay, Sato-Badenas was the only team to break par when they assembled a best-ball score of two-under-par 70 for a three-shot lead in Division 1 in the first round Friday of the Sta. Lucia Golf Tour’s international leg at Lam Luk Ka Country Club course here.

Sato-Badenas posted nines of 36-34 to lead Alta Vista’s Dennis Canoy-Masahisa Kawakami by three and another Alta Vista pair Marlo Cugtas-Hospicio Razon by five going into tomorrow’s final round at the Vintage Country Club in the tournament organized by real estate giant Sta. Lucia Realty for members of clubs flying its banner.

Lee Tong-hwa and Lee Chung-hyo of Eagle Ridge paced Group 2 with a 75 at the Roger Packard-designed layout, Wilfrido Valencia and Wilfredo Dulay of Beverly Place led Group 3 with a 79 and Arturo Santos-Ricardo Odulio of Orchard showed the way in Division 4.

The Lees were four shots ahead of another all-Korean pair from Eagle Ridge, Kim Young-kwon and Lee Kin-yong, and Orchard bets Wilfred Pacpaco and Rudy Gamut who fired similar 79s; Valencia and Dulay were two up on the Eagle Ridge tandem of Munding del Rosario and Marthy Fernando with Summit Point’s Masaru Matsuo-Anthony Arevalo four shots back at 83. Santos-Odulio will carry a four-shot lead over Mayolito Pillerin-Fernando Ugdoracion of Rancho Palos Verdes and Pete del Rosario-Rene Piano of Alta Vista who carded 85s into the final round.

“It’s still an exciting race in all divisions. No team has the advantage of knowing the golf courses well and even teams that are four or five shots behind can still turn things around,” said Teng Santos, chair of the Tour’s executive committee who is joined in the trip by Sta. Lucia Realty executives Mike and Jason Robles as well as golf club managers and golf directors.

The stars in Division 1 of the two previous legs at Summit Point and Lakewood didn’t do to well and need big rally on final day.

Mike Mangio and Mike Sanggaran, the overall champs from Beverly Place at the Lakewood course in Cabanatuan which hosted the second leg, was doing well at the turn with a 37 but struggled with a 40 coming home for a 77 that put them seven behind Lino Magpantay, winner at his home Summit Point, and his partner Masaru Matsuo.