THE Philippines' Juvic Pagunsan fired a sizzling five-under par 66 to finish in joint fifth after the first round of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics men’s golf tournament at the Kasumigaseki Country Club on Thursday.
Pagunsan, the oldest athlete in the Philippine delegation at 43, put himself in contention for medals after firing six birdies and one bogey in a low-scoring day that was suspended for two-and-a half-hours due to lightning in the par-71 layout.
He could've gone lower if not for a makeable birdie chance that he missed on No. 17.
A regular on the Japan Tour, Pagunsan finished the day tied with Joachim Hansen of Denmark and Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela, just three shots behind leader Sepp Straka of Austria, who shot a course and Olympic record eight-under par 63.
Juvic leaves PGA Tour stars in the shade
Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand was in second following a 64 followed by Thomas Pieters of Belguim and Carlos Ortiz of Mexico, who both shots 65s.
The Filipino golfer, ranked No. 226 in the world, bested some of the big names in the Olympic field that included Masters champion and home hero Hideki Matsuyama (69), British Open winner Collin Morikawa of the US (69), and Rory McIlroy of Ireland (69).
Paul Casey of Great Britain was in a share of eighth with a 67, and American Xander Schauffelle was in joint 12th following a 68.
Morikawa, the top-ranked golfer in the field at No. 3 following the pullout of world number one Jon Rahm due to COVID-19 and Dustin Johnson for personal reasons, and McIlroy are in a tie for 20th with a 2-under par 69.
Justin Thomas, a former world No. 1, was in 41st among 60 golfers with an even-par 71.
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