One round into the 31st Nomura Cup, and after combining for a 142 tally to forge a tie for second place, Team Philippines stalwarts Rolando Bregente and Jet Hernandez are convinced that the country has what it takes to finally end a 63-year drought in the event also known as the Asia-Pacific team championship.
‘I have no doubt that this team is capable. It has all the tools,’ the 24-year-old Bregente said in Filipino after draining four birdies in a three-under-par 69 at Bayhood No. 9 Golf Club in Beijing on Tuesday. ‘We are where we want to be at this stage of the tournament-just in step with the powerhouses of the region like Japan, China and Thailand.’
The Filipinos are tied with the Japanese, as they jointly trail surprise leader Hong Kong-China by two shots. The Philippines holds a three-shot advantage over the Chinese and defending champion Vietnam, who both carded 145s, a shot ahead of the formidable Thais.
‘I am pretty excited about this team, and I am pretty sure people back home who are following [the sport] are, too,’ Hernandez told the Inquirer after rescuing a 73 despite a very rough day on the sleek greens. ‘Once I knew who the [other members of the] team were, I could tell we really had a good shot before coming over.
‘But we are taking things one day at a time,’ he stressed. ‘I thought today we did a good job of keeping ourselves in the hunt, which was a goal of ours heading [into] today.’
Shinichi Suzuki, the youngest member of the team at 18, signed for a double bogey 5 on the 18th for a 75 and did not count. The 6-foot-3 Filipino-Japanese is bracing for a big second-round bounce-back after learning from his mistakes.
‘Adrenaline got me on No. 18,’ Suzuki told the Inquirer in a separate interview, referring to how he overshot the green and found the water hazard behind it. ‘I’ve learned to accept the mistakes I made today and will use them to bounce back in the next three days.’
Jeffrey Shen and Markus Zachary Lam fired 70s to make up scoring for HK-China, while Japan got 71s from Taisei Nagasaki and Mao Matsuyama for its 142.
‘We will work with what we have in front of us and control what we can,’ Hernandez said. ‘[If we do that] to the best of our abilities, we’re going to be fine.’