ILOILO City – Fidel Concepcion made a strong start in his pursuit of a breakthrough on the Philippine Golf Tour, shooting an impressive six-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over Guido van der Valk in the opening round of the ICTSI Iloilo Golf Challenge on Tuesday.
After missing the cut in the last PGT leg at Forest Hills, Concepcion rebounded by birdieing three of his first eight holes. Despite a setback on the ninth, he rallied with four more birdies on the back nine, finishing with a near-perfect round of 34-30.
“I took a break after missing the cut at Forest Hills. I went back to basics, tried to brush it off, and moved forward,” said Concepcion. “I putted really well, and the greens are excellent. You can’t complain much about a 64.”
“This is my best start, but there’s a lot of golf left to play. I’ve been in this situation before, and I hope to hang on this time and do a little better,” added Concepcion, who also praised the well-maintained surface of the tight but tricky par-70 layout.
Van der Valk, who posted a 65, birdied four of the first seven holes then bounced back from two bogeys with a trio of birdies from the 13th to finish in solo second, while Ira Alido carded a 66 to take third, highlighting his back-nine surge with three birdies.
Defending champion Rupert Zaragosa and veterans Tony Lascuña and Reymon Jaraula are among those tied at fourth with rounds of 67.
Meanwhile, Chanelle Avaricio, Mikha Fortuna, Chihiro Ikeda, and Gretchen Villacencio each carded a two-over-par 72 to share the lead in the ICTSI Iloilo Golf Challenge women’s division.
Avaricio, poised for the solo lead, bogeyed the 18th, allowing Fortuna, who birdied her final hole on the ninth, to join the four-way tie.
“I struggled a bit but managed to bounce back with two chip-in birdies and made a couple of par-saving putts from long range,” said Avaricio, reflecting on her up-and-down round. “I’ll try to hit more fairways in the next rounds.”/PN
