DAVAO CITY – Gab Manotoc finally delivered the kind of opening-round performance that could propel him into the Philippine Golf Tour spotlight, firing a bogey-free six-under 66 Tuesday to catch Japan’s Kashihara Hirotaka at the top in the ICTSI South Pacific Classic at the South Pacific Golf Club.
Long seeking to establish his own identity on the circuit while stepping out of the shadow of his illustrious father, Tommy Manotoc, Gab produced a timely surge of fifive birdies to turn a modest start into a course-record-tying round.
Hirotaka, meanwhile, capitalized on ideal conditions in his early start to reach six-under first. Manotoc faced tougher conditions in the afternoon heat but stayed composed, finishing without a bogey to match the Japanese veteran’s output.
Manotoc, Hirotaka tie course record
The pair’s opening-round scores equaled the course record from the gold tees, previously set by Rico Depilo, Tony Lascuña and Clyde Mondilla in earlier PGT tournaments. Amateur Chris Remata holds the outright benchmark with a 64 in last year’s Mindanao Amateur Open.
Manotoc credited his disciplined play and improved putting surfaces for helping him capitalize on his scoring opportunities.
“My game was pretty good today. I had no bogeys and six birdies. I left myself in good positions on the greens and trusted my lines,” said Manotoc, whose best finish in four years on the PGT is a tie for fifth at Valley Golf in 2023.
“The greens have improved compared with previous years. It’s not necessarily easier, but there are more makeable pars, and I was fortunate to find good spots and hole some putts,” he added.
The 28-year-old has been consistent enough to make the cut in all eight of his previous starts this season, but a tie for 12th in Negros Occidental remained his best result entering the ninth leg of the circuit. He also finished runner-up to Angelo Que in a playoff in a separate professional tournament at Pradera Verde.
Despite his strong start, Manotoc was reluctant to make predictions about his chances, preferring to keep his attention on his game rather than the leaderboard.
“I’m not really expecting anything. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I’ve been hitting it pretty decently. I felt my putter was a little cold last week at Pueblo de Oro, although I actually played well.”
Mondilla, seeking redemption after a final-round collapse at Pueblo de Oro, closed strongly with three birdies in his last four holes on the front nine to shoot 67 and join Russell Bautista and Lee Song at third, just one stroke off the lead.
Sean Ramos showed little sign of fatigue just two days after competing in Macau, carding a 68 to share sixth place with Ivan Monsalve, Marvin Dumandan and amateurs Jacob Rolida and Miguel Ilas.
Defending champion Jeffren Lumbo made an early statement of his own, holing out from a pitch for an eagle on the par-4 No. 9 – the same hole where he beat Bautista in a dramatic five-hole playoff last year – to salvage a 69 and join Aidric Chan, Fidel Concepcion and Jonas Magcalayo at joint 11th.
Iloilo leg winner Jhonnel Ababa was among five players who carded 70s, while Pueblo de Oro champion Rupert Zaragosa and Negros Occidental winner Art Arbole were among eight players sharing 20th place at 71s
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