Quiban, Ababa lead ICTSI Summit Point Championship

LIPA CITY, Batangas — Justin Quiban fired a seven-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead in the Philippine Golf Tour competition, while Sarah Ababa opened a two-shot advantage in the ladies’ division as the ICTSI Summit Point Championship began Tuesday.

Both leaders relied on accurate driving at Summit Point Golf and Country Club, where rain-softened fairways and receptive greens offered scoring opportunities but swirling winds complicated club selection and distance control.

Quiban marked his tour return by birdieing two of his first three holes before recovering from a setback on No. 6 with six birdies over his last 10 holes.

He birdied Nos. 13 to 15 and added another on the 18th to complete a back-nine 31 and finish one shot ahead of Angelo Que.

“I just had to make sure I was driving it well enough to keep myself in the fairway because, if it’s in the fairway, and given that it’s wet and we’re playing under winter rules, we get to fix our lies. But if you’re in the rough with mud balls, it’s so hard to hit the greens,” said Quiban.

“The strategy was to keep it in play and keep it in the fairway so I could get aggressive on my second shots, which I somehow did. I hit it pretty close and made a couple of putts out there to end up shooting a 65,” he added.

The round extended a strong start to the season for Quiban, who rallied to win the opening leg at Lakewood last March with an eagle on the final hole.

He subsequently resumed his overseas campaign to gain experience and sharpen his game before returning to compete at Summit Point.

“It’s important to know your distances. Since it’s wet, you need to know the tendency of how the ball reacts. I guess playing outside the country a lot, where we get all kinds of conditions, helps me understand my game more and know how far my shots are going to come out even though it’s wet,” he said. “I think distance control is that important.”

Que stayed close with a six-under 66, attacking the more receptive layout and shooting a back-nine 32 highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 14th.

Aidric Chan, Jhonnel Ababa and Jeffren Lumbo each carded a 68 to sit three strokes behind Quiban in the PHP 2.5-million championship.

Jerson Balasabas, Gabriel Manotoc and Mars Pucay followed with matching 69s.

A total of 25 players broke par despite persistent winds that tested ball flight, club selection and distance control.

Summit Point features five par-5s and five par-3s, offering opportunities to gain strokes, although Que stressed that the layout still demanded sound execution.

“While it may look that way, it still depends on the players. If you hit it bad, wala rin,” said Que.

Ten players shared ninth place at 70: Asian Games-bound Carl Corpus, Tony Lascuña, Reymon Jaraula, Nilo Salahog, Russell Bautista, Michael Bibat, Marvin Dumandan, Japan’s Ryoto Furuya, Randy Garalde and amateur Miguel Ilas.

The tightly packed leaderboard left Quiban little room for error as players sought to balance aggressive approaches with the control needed to handle the wind.

In the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour competition, Sarah Ababa overcame an unsettled start and used two quick birdies and a succession of steady pars to post a one-under 71.

The reigning LPGT Order of Merit champion finished two strokes ahead of Harmie Constantino, Tiffany Lee and Gretchen Villacencio in the PHP 1-million event.

“Sa ganitong kondisyon kailangan mong tamaan ang fairway since preferred lies naman. At para maka-attack sa green at maka-putt ng maganda,” said Ababa.

Ababa lost in sudden death at Lakewood, placed fourth at Caliraya Springs and finished fifth at Pinewoods before skipping the fourth leg at Pradera Verde.

“Sobrang steady ang driving ko at okay naman ang putting,” added the veteran Davaoeña, who returned to the tour after a long break.

“I don’t really expect to lead. I just want to enjoy my game, especially since I missed the Pradera Verde leg,” said Ababa.

She will seek to maintain that form over the next two days as she pursues the championship.

Constantino, the runaway winner at Caliraya Springs, mixed two birdies with three bogeys for a 73.

She had an opportunity to take solo second but dropped a stroke on the difficult finishing hole.

Lee, a former Splendido Taal winner, opened with back-to-back birdies before a double bogey on the par-5 fifth and a bogey on the sixth erased her early gains.

She steadied herself with a string of pars and birdied No. 15 to return to even par, but a bogey on the 18th left her with a 73.

Villacencio also recovered from a difficult start, answering bogeys on her first two holes with birdies on Nos. 5 and 7.

She dropped another stroke on No. 15 and finished with a 36-37 card to join Constantino and Lee, her first-round playing partners, in second place.

Amateur Matet Salivio, who had three bogeys through 12 holes, rallied with a birdie-bogey-birdie sequence from No. 15 to salvage a 74.

She shared fifth with Apple Fudolin, who recorded a 36-38.

Chanelle Avaricio recovered from a front-nine 40 with a birdie on No. 16 to finish at 75, tying Yvon Bisera, Seoyun Kim and Monical Mandario for seventh.

Bisera birdied No. 2 but slipped with a bogey-bogey-double bogey stretch beginning on No. 5.

She dropped another shot on No. 10 before recovering a stroke with a birdie on No. 17.

Mandario made one birdie against four bogeys for a 37-38 card.

Kim, still seeking her first LPGT victory after a couple of runner-up finishes, began on the back nine and made two birdies against one bogey over her first six holes.

The Korean dropped shots on Nos. 16 and 18 before producing an eagle-3 on No. 5 to briefly share the lead at one-under.

Her challenge faded with a double bogey on the sixth and bogeys on the next two holes, leaving her with a 38-37.

Multi-titled Princess Superal also entered early contention with a birdie on No. 15 after starting on No. 10.

She made three bogeys and a double bogey over her final 11 holes to finish alone in 11th at 76.

With 36 holes remaining in the ladies’ event, Ababa’s two-shot advantage faces further tests from Summit Point’s exposed layout, wet conditions and shifting winds, which have made club selection, ball position and patience central to the title chase.