Manila: Guido Van Der Valk of the Netherlands fired an eight-under-par 64 to take the clubhouse lead before inclement weather suspended play at the ICTSI Mount Malarayat Classic on Wednesday.
Play was suspended at 10.23am before resuming one and a half hours later and then abandoned for the day at 16.47pm due to lightning threats.
A total of 63 players will resume the first round on Thursday at 6.45am local time at the Mount Malarayat Golf & Country Club.
Van Der Valk opened his campaign strongly by marking his card with one eagle and seven birdies against one bogey for a one shot lead over Filipino Anthony Fernando at the US$60,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.
Another Filipino Antonio Lascuna was six-under through 12 holes while Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung, currently second on the ADT Order of Merit, was a further shot back with six more holes to play.
ADT Order of Merit leader James Bowen of the United States and Greg Moss, Filipinos Roberto Bernis Jr. and Angelo Que, Australian David Lutterus and Pasamet Pogamnerd of Thailand finished the first round on matching 67s.
Van Der Valk sang praises of the golf course after shooting a solid opening round at the weather-disrupted ICTSI Mount Malarayat Classic.
“I had a hot start today and I hit the ball really well. The course was really wet due to the rain earlier but it didn’t really affect my game. I’m very impressed with the drainage system on the course. I have to say the course is in a pretty good shape,” said the Dutchman, who won his first ADT title in 2011.
Meanwhile Fernando, who finished top-10 in Cebu last week, continued his good form when he turned in 31 before adding two birdies on his homeward nine for a flawless round.
However, he conceded that he will have to stay focused if he wants to stay in contention till the end of the week.
“I’ve been trying to get the ball in place the whole of today. I hit some good shots, holed some putts, made five birdies on the front nine and didn’t make a single bogey today. I’m very happy with how I’m playing,” said the Filipino.
“I played well last week and I hope to bring over my good form to this week’s event. I tell myself not to get excited whenever I hit a good shot. I’ll take one step at a time and we will see how it goes,” added Fernando.
Lutterus’s opening round performance at the Mount Malarayat Golf & Country Club has kept up his hopes of making a breakthrough on the ADT.
“I holed a lot of putts today. The course was very wet but the playing conditions are still pretty good,” said Lutterus, who earned his Asian Tour card earlier this year at the Qualifying School in Thailand where he finished inside the top-40.
Bowen, a two-time winner on the ADT, made for up for the disappointment of missing the cut in Cebu last week by signing for a 67 to tie for third.
The top three players to finish on the ADT Order of Merit at the end of this season will receive Asian Tour cards for 2014.
All ADT events also receive Official World Golf Ranking points, which will be used to determine the field for the World Cup of Golf in Melbourne in November and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Winners on the ADT will receive a minimum of six world ranking points while the top six players and ties will earn points based on a sliding scale.