Jhonnel Ababa has been playing as well as he could the past few weeks, and Tuesday in Iloilo wasn’t any different.
‘I’m just swinging it well, hitting it pure,’ Ababa told the Inquirer over the phone in Filipino after gutting out a three-under-par 67 for a one-shot lead over a formidable quintet led by Clyde Mondilla in the ICTSI Iloilo Golf Challenge at the age-old layout formerly known as Sta. Barbara.
It was the only bogey-free round for the 42-year-old father of two, who is playing for the memory of wife, Mailyn, as he shoots to rebound from a costly final-round collapse last week in Bacolod where Art Arbole broke through.
‘I was also playing very well that week, until I got the cough and colds in the final two rounds,’ Ababa, who finished two strokes behind Arbole, explained. ‘I still don’t feel 100 percent, but I am much better now.’
The big-hitting Mondilla gunned down five birdies that went with three bogeys over the tree-lined layout and was in the company of Reymon Jaraula, Rupert Zaragosa, Japan’s Miki Ryoma and long shot Paul Echavez, who birdied his final two holes.
The conditions weren’t that forgiving in the first round, as scorching heat and blustery gusts made for tough play.
There were only 12 sub-par rounds, and big guns like Angelo Que and Justin Quiban returned 72s as Que struggled with five bogeys and Quiban only had four birdies in a round littered by four bogeys and a double bogey 5 on the 15th.
Zannie Boy Gialon, the 2024 champion, got slowed down by a front side 40 on the way to a 74, as he needs a low second round to make the final two rounds.
‘The course was extremely tough, especially when the wind picked up on the back nine,’ Ababa said. ‘I just focused on hitting greens in regulation, and whenever a birdie opportunity came up, I made the putt. I just got a bit lucky today.’
Mondilla looked poised for the solo lead as he came into his final four holes working on a four-under card. But Mondilla missed the sixth and eighth greens and couldn’t rescue pars.
‘My par putts were from a long distance [on those holes],’ said Mondilla in Filipino.
Arbole, meanwhile, returned a level 70 to be in a six-man group that includes Antonio Lascuña, even as Jeff Lumbo, who was second last week at Marapara, shot a 69 to be in a six-man pack that trails Ababa by two heading into the second round on Wednesday.