As local aces struggle, flawless Sadom wrests Open pace after 65
CARMONA, Cavite—The winds blew hard and the greens were very unreceptive, and two bright local hopes are now facing a steep mountain to scale in the second round of the $500,000 Smart Infinity Philippine Open paced by the brilliant Sadom Kaewkanjana of Thailand.
The Thai ace had five birdies and no bogeys in an impressive opening round of five-under-par 65 for a one-shot lead over countryman Danthai Boonma and two others, even as Filipino former champions Miguel Tabuena and Angelo Que struggled in the morning flights to return a 74 and a 75, respectively.
“It was just one of those days,” the 30-year-old Tabuena told reporters after a round littered with a double bogey on No. 6 and five bogeys that went with just three birdies. “I was never comfy out there for some reason.”
Que, the 2008 champion at Wack Wack, signed for two double bogeys and both he and Tabuena will need to make up a lot of ground in Friday’s second round to make the weekend.
Ever-gracious pros
“I think anything under par [on Friday] can do it,” Tabuena, who like Que was ever gracious even after a not-so-pleasant round, went on. “The winds made me misjudge some distances. That’s basically it.”
“Good thing is that there’s still a chance [to play in the weekend]. So we’ll see tomorrow,” Que said.
Boonma said that the Masters layout “is long and tough, and it’s a real challenge,” but the fact that the 29-year-old only missed one fairway and one green despite the elements made his round a spectacular one.
Young Aidric Chan and Sean Ramos fired 68s to carry the fight for the Philippines, which also got a 70 from Japan Tour standout Justin delos Reyes even if he “left a few shots out there today.”
Pavit Tangkamolprasert is the third Thai in the top four after his version of a 66, with New Zealand’s Aaron Wilkin joining the three-man tie at second, a stroke ahead of a five-man group that shot 67s led by Swede Bjorn Hellgren.
