MAFY Singson fired an opening 70 for a two-shot lead over Laurea Duque as amateurs upstaged the pros in the opener of the ICTSI Aoki Classic at Eagle Ridge on Wednesday in Gen. Trias, Cavite.
Singson hit birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 while Duque went bogey-birdie-bogey from No. 15 in the restart of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour after a three-month hiatus.
“I played pretty well. It was windy and just tried to hit it in the middle,” said Singson, who birdied Nos. 7 and 12 to negate her mishaps on Nos. 11 and 13.
“I hope to keep it up, hit the fairways and greens and be more consistent,” she added.
Duque, the low amateur at Eagle Ridge-Aoki ruled by Harmie Constantino last March, bucked a bogey-bogey start with three birdies in an eight-hole stretch from No. 6.
She said she was more than satisfied with her performance given the tough playing conditions.
“My game was pretty solid. I started out with two bogeys but holed in some putts and ended up shooting even,” said Duque.
“I just want to have fun, no expectations but I know I’m playing well,” she added.
While two of the five amateurs in the fold put up an impressive start in hot conditions, the pros struggled coming off a long break with Constantino barely surviving a day-long struggle in sweltering heat, hitting four birdies but fumbling with five bogeys for third spot at73.
“I made mistakes on a couple of holes but the conditions are really tough. It was windy out there,” said Constantino.
Marvi Monsalve birdied the 16th en route to a 74 for fourth, just four strokes off the leader in one of her best starts in the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
Monsalve said she was happy with her score in blustery conditions, vowing to put more emphasis on putting to fuel her title drive.
“It’s super windy and some of the lies were pretty bad but I hit a couple of lucky shots,” said Monsalve. “I just have to focus on putting and the speed of the greens or maybe hit it closer.”

Laurea Duque is pleased to post a good score in tough conditions.
Chihiro Ikeda was even through the first nine but limped with two bogeys and a double bogey with no birdie in the last nine holes, submitting a 76 for fifth.
Sunshine Baraquiel eagled the par-5 No. 6 but failed to hit any birdie the rest of the way, her slew of miscues – five bogeys and a double bogey – pulling her down to joint sixth with amateur Burberry Zhang at 77, nine strokes behind Singson.
Zhang, low amateur at Sherwood Hills last July, took charge early with birdies on Nos. 1 and 3 but reeled back with five bogeys and a triple bogey on No. 13 then birdied the 16th.
Daniella Uy and Chanelle Avaricio, two of the pre-tournament favorites in the absence of the Japan-bound Princess Superal, both started out on the wrong foot. Uy had three bogeys, three double bogeys and three birdies for a 78.
Avaricio, runner-up to Superal at Sherwood and Eagle Ridge-Norman, shot a 79 marred by six bogeys and a double bogey against a lone birdie.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph