Pucay 2 behind with 72

TAIPEI—Mars Pucay matched par 72 on a day of tough scoring and trailed leader Peter Karmis of South Africa by two strokes after the opening round of the Mercuries Taiwan Masters on Thursday.   The diminutive Karmis, who won his maiden Asian Tour title in Singapore earlier this month, was one of four players to break par with a two-under-par 70 at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club.   Pariya Junhasavasdikul of Thailand, Malaysia’s Iain Steel and Chinese Taipei’s Chen Tsang-te battled to a 71 at the $500,000 Asian Tour event where rain and strong wind made life difficult for players. Angelo Que was the next best Filipino player with a 73.  
Ferdinand Aunzo carded a 74, Juvic Pagunsan, Artemio Murakami and Antonio Lascuna had 75s while Gerald Rosales struggled with a 78.