JAPANESE Mitsuhiko Hazishume started off hot but got affected by the two-hour rain delay and fell into a tie for the lead with a four-under 68 along with Carl Santos-Ocampo after the first round of the ICTSI Orchard Golf Championship at the Orchard’s Palmer Course in Cavite yesterday.
Hashizume, 28, took advantage of an early tee-off and fired three birdies at the back then gunned down an eagle on No. 2 and added another birdie on the fifth to negate a missed-green bogey on No. 1.
But heavy mid-morning rains spawned by typhoon Helen rendered the fairways soggy and submerged some of the greens, forcing tournament director Jittisak Tramprasert of the Asian Development Tour to suspend play in the $60,000 tournament serving as the eighth leg of the fledgling circuit.
At resumption, Hashizume bogeyed the par-3 No. 7 but closed out with back-to-back pars to find himself on top of the heap with most of the big guns, including Elmer Salvador and Tony Lascuna, still having to complete play.
Santos-Ocampo, who blew his first crack at a pro crown in the ICTSI John Hay Championship last April, put himself in early contention with a 34-34 card spiked by four birdies, including on three of the four par 5s, but marred by two bogeys, including one at the par-5 18th.
Still, the Fil-Am bet managed to hold on to a share of the lead in the 72-hole championship, one stroke ahead of Singapore’s Quincy Quek, who like the rest of the field, sputtered at resumption of play at the front, settling for a 36 after an impressive 33 at the back for a 69. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio