GEN. TRIAS, Cavite. – Lloyd Go thrived in tough conditions, producing a near-impeccable six-under 66 to storm past Angelo Que by two halfway through the ICTSI Eagle Ridge at Aoki Invitational that saw the fall of a slew of early frontrunners and the rise of a mix of bidders here Wednesday.
On target all day with a superb iron play that set up a number of tap-in birdie chances on Aoki’s undulating, sleek surface that bedeviled the games of majority of the field, Go flourished with seven birdies to negate a three-putt miscue on the par-3 No. 7 as the former national champion charged from joint fifth to the top with a nine-under 135.
“I’ve been working on my (mid) irons for quite some time, so coming into this event, I was kind of confident,” said the former Seton Hall U standout, who topped the Philippine Golf Tour Q-School in 2018 but opted to vie in other regional tours to toughen up.
He rallied to earn a share of fifth at Splendido Taal last month on a closing 66, which he duplicated here at Aoki, which yielded to Go’s awesome form but bit back at some, including Que, who found the going a lot tougher and saved a 70 after kicking off his bid with a lead-sharing 67 in his first PGT foray since March last year, also here.
“I birdied three of the four par-5s that’s why I played good,” said Go. “And it will be just the same for tomorrow (today) — get into the fairway and from there my irons play pretty good. So hopefully I could repeat what I did today.”
Only this time, he’ll be playing alongside the seasoned Que in what could be a test of character for the young Cebuano talent.
“Putting saved me today,” said Que, who, unlike Go, rued over his day-long struggle with his approach shots that often missed their targets.
