CARMONA, Cavite. — Performing under the radar in a star-studded field, Thai Sadom Kwaewkanjama exploited an early morning flight to card a bogey-free 65 on Thursday to seize a one-shot lead at the start of the Smart Infinity Philippine Open here.
Making his maiden appearance in the country’s premier golf tournament, the opening leg of the Asian Tour, Kwaewkanjana fired five birdies over the challenging par-70, 7,138-yard Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club Masters Course designed by American legend Jack Nicklaus.
He emerged one shot ahead of countryman Danthai Boonma and Englishman Aaron Wilkin, who both carded 66s, to gain the inside track on the championship purse of $90,000 (P5.3 million) at stake in Asia’s oldest pro golf tournament.
Aldric Chan and Sean Ramos fired identical 68s and emerged as the best-placed Filipinos in a tie for ninth place with seven others after the first round of the blue-ribbon competition returning to the plush layout last held here in 1993.
A five-year Asian Tour veteran, Kwaewkanjana was pretty satisfied with his opening-round performance.
“I played very solid today. I missed only one green and one fairway. I had a lot of opportunities to make birdies,” he said, adding that “some holes are tough and long so it was a real challenge.”
The 2022 SMBC Singapore Open champ was hopeful he could sustain his fine form in the second round but expects to make some adjustments since he will play in the afternoon.
Two-time PH Open champ Miguel Tabuena had a rough day on the layout despite an early morning flight, slumping with a 74 pockmarked by four bogeys, a double bogey against three birdies.
Tabuena was mired in a 13-way tie for 9th place and looked in danger of missing the cut unless he could dramatically turn things around in the second round Friday.
“I really enjoyed my round today with my first-time caddie Clayton. It was really nice because I learned a lot from him and made a lot of decisions based on his advice,” Chan, 24, a former University of Arizona varsity star like two-time Olympian Bianca Pagdanganan, said.
“I think the greens were rolling pretty firm. We could have attacked the birdies a bit more but I am really happy that everything was set up quite perfectly and I would like to thank the Southwoods management for the set-up,” he noted.
“Starting under par for the tournament is one of the best things to happen to me,” added Chan, who likewise credited the early morning flight for his auspicious start on his home course in his first PH Open as a pro.
Tabuena blamed his lackluster outing on a new driver after his old one cracked over the weekend on top of miscalculating the strength of the winds that swept through the course in the morning.
“I was not short as I used today. I didn’t feel as confident. But that’s part of the game. You can’t feel 100 percent when you play,” he said.
“I cracked my old driver last Sunday and got to use the new one only yesterday. The winds were not as strong so I misjudged four to five tee shots with my new driver,” he added. “My yardage was dropping using the new one. It was weird.”
But the former national amateur standout and 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games silver medalist remained unruffled, saying: “If I get under par tomorrow, good things will happen for sure.”
Teen phenom Rianne Malixi, the only female player in the field, had problems coping with the course length and was way down in the 111th spot at 75 with 12 others.
