Micah Shin fires 66, leads ICTSI Apo Classic by three

DAVAO CITY — Micah Shin returned to familiar ground at Apo Golf and Country Club and made it look like his own playground, firing a six-under-par 66 to seize a three-stroke lead in the opening round of the ICTSI Apo Golf Classic on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Armed with intimate knowledge of the tight, demanding layout and a game sharpened by campaigns abroad, Shin made the most of his home-course advantage, stringing together birdies to establish a commanding cushion over a field featuring the Philippine Golf Tour’s (PGT) leading players.

He held a three-shot lead over last week’s South Pacific leg winner Clyde Mondilla, who recovered from a front-nine 36 with four birdies, including one on the 18th, against a lone bogey on the back nine for a 69.

Seven players shared third place with 70s, including Sean Ramos, Russell Bautista, local veteran Ramil Bisera, Paul Echavez, Jeremy Tandoy, Dino Villanueva and South Korea’s Kim Tae Soo.

The local contenders, who gave Mondilla a spirited challenge at South Pacific, found the Apo layout more demanding.

Jeffren Lumbo, Elee Bisera, James Ryan Lam and American Collin Wheeler posted identical 71s, while Justin Quiban, Angelo Que and Jhonnel Ababa shared 14th place with amateur Jacob Rolida and Alexander Bisera after shooting 72s.

It was only the opening round, but the manner of Shin’s charge hinted at a different outcome for a tour that has thrived on suspense, late surges and razor-thin margins.

Each of the previous six tournaments had been decided by just one or two strokes, while the last two editions at Apo went to sudden death.

Shin, however, wasted little time putting daylight between himself and the chasing pack.

“To be honest, I made a lot of easy birdies today, which made scoring well easier. I didn’t miss many fairways. I hit some bad shots, too, but I managed to recover and save par,” said Shin, one of the club invitees making the most of his opportunity.

“I’m really thankful to Apo for inviting me to play. I grew up and trained here, so it’s fun to compete on my home course. I’ve moved to Korea, but I still come back whenever I have time to practice,” Shin added.

He admitted that he was still far from his best form following a series of underwhelming performances on the Asian Tour, but his familiarity with the course gave him a much-needed confidence boost.

“I’m not feeling my best, but I’m pretty confident here because it’s my home course,” he said.

Making his first regular PGT appearance of the year after capturing his second title at The Country Club Invitational in January, the Korean-American golfer also benefited from an early tee time, taking advantage of relatively favorable conditions before the heat intensified.

He birdied four of his first nine holes, quickly finding his rhythm and turning his familiarity with the course into a scoring advantage.

While the local contenders tried to match his early pace, Shin kept pressing, showing the control and confidence that have made him a formidable competitor on the Asian Tour.

His decisive burst came on the back nine, where he rattled off three consecutive birdies starting at No. 13 to reach seven-under for the day, stretching his lead to five strokes over Ramil Bisera and putting the rest of the field under pressure.

But he faltered near the finish, pulling his tee shot into the left bunker on the par-3 17th.

He blasted out to within two feet, only to miss the par putt.

“I missed a short putt on the 17th, but I mean the greens are so pretty tough,” he said.

The strong starts by the homegrown challengers underscored the quality of the opposition Shin faced, but none could sustain his pace.

Still, no advantage is safe at Apo, where the course’s demanding conditions can quickly turn a comfortable lead into a tense chase.

Shin’s three-shot cushion is significant, but with three rounds remaining, the PGT’s proven winners have ample time to mount a response.

The ICTSI Apo Golf Classic, which runs through Oct. 30, offers a PHP 2.5 million purse and serves as the final regular leg of the PGT season, adding importance to every stroke as players compete for the championship and valuable Order of Merit earnings.

For Shin, the opening 66 provided an encouraging reset after two recent Asian Tour appearances that yielded mixed results.

He tied for 19th in Macau before finishing tied for 54th in Hong Kong last week, but back on a layout he knows intimately, he looked capable of dictating the tournament’s pace.

His familiarity with Apo, however, is only part of the equation.

Against a field packed with the PGT’s leading players, Shin combined local knowledge with sharp execution and an aggressive approach to deliver an emphatic opening-round performance.

The challenge now is to sustain that form and keep his pursuers at bay.

At a venue known for dramatic finishes, Shin has given himself a significant head start.

“No change of game plan but if I just don’t make bogeys, yeah, I think I’ll shoot really low again,” he said.

For one day, at least, there was no place like home.