Salvador paces Yeangder

TAIPEI—Elmer Salvador fired a 6-under-par 66 to grab the lead while Angelo Que shot a hole-in-one to match the 68 of Antonio Lascuña as Filipinos stole the limelight at the start of the $500,000 Yeangder Tournament Players Championship here on Thursday.

Wielding a hot putter, the 45-year-old Salvador gunned down seven birdies, three of them from about 20 feet, against a lone bogey and found himself leading an Asian Tour event for the first time since joining the circuit in 2008.

Que, a three-time Asian Tour winner, aced the fifth hole with a seven iron from 200 yards out to win an Audemars Piguet watch worth about $19,000 and a cash prize of $6,500 at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club.

It was Que’s first official ace in an Asian Tour event. He previously made two hole-in-ones during the practice round of the 2011 Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters.

“I jumped when I saw the ball disappear,” said Que. “This is the third hole-in-one I’ve had in my career and also my first in a proper professional tournament.”

Lascuña, No. 8 on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, nailed four birdies, three on the back nine, as he remained on course for a fourth straight victory after dominating the last three legs of the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour.

Cassius Casas matched par 72 while Jay Bayron and Miguel Tabuena, the other Filipinos in the field, carded 73s in this event kicking off the second phase of the season’s Asian Tour calendar.

Marcus Booth of Australia, Prom Meesawat of Thailand and Lian Lu-sen of Taiwan were a stroke behind Salvador, whose best finish on the Asian Tour was a tie for second in the Singapore Classic in 2011.

Hsu Hao-sheng of Chinese Taipei and Danny Chia of Malaysia were tied with Que and Lascuña while defending champion Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand posted a 70.

Salvador, a two-time winner on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), overcame his poor tee shots with a red-hot performance on the greens.

“My putting was very good today,” he said. “I made three long putts from about 20 feet.”

Que got off to a fast start with an eagle on the 10th hole. He added two birdies against as many bogeys before acing the fifth.

“I had a solid round today,” said Que, a father of two. “I cannot complain. I’ve played well here for the last few years. It always feels like home coming back here every year. I am pleased with how I’ve played today. Hopefully, I can keep it up till the end of the week.”

Lascuña, who hasn’t missed a single cut in six Asian Tour events so far, said he was happy with his round, noting that the course was tough with very tricky greens. Asian Tour News