JET SOARS HIGH: Mathay sizzles, tows Januarius to 10-point lead

BAGUIO CITY — With Jet Mathay catching fire, Januarius Private Equity posted an impressive 149 points to vault into a 10-point lead at the start of the Fil Championship of the 74th Januarius Fil-Am Invitational at the Camp John Hay Golf Club here.

Mathay delivered a spectacular performance with 40 points to help Januarius post a strong start in the premier division of the longest-running amateur club tournament in the world.

Mathay went on a birdie spree, making seven overall that offset a lone bogey on No. 5 and a pick up on No. 3 to finish with a four-under 65 worth 40 points.

Kirby Lachica and Ayon Sanchez also turned in impressive 37 apiece while new recruit Masa Otake added 35 for Januarius, which ended up at third place last year despite leading in the first two rounds.

The Januarius mainstay did not expect to score well as he went two-over in five holes. He got to even par with birdies on Nos. 8 and 9.

After a par on the 10th, he engineered a string of three birdies from Nos. 11 to 13 and another on 17 to seal that 40.

“My game plan was to be too aggressive to attack. Then my putting got going which made the difference actually,” Mathay explained.

Januarius team manager Paolo Cagalingan lauded the team’s composure but stressed that the job is not yet done as other teams are expected to put up a strong fight in the coming days.

“They played well and kept their composure,” Cagalingan said.

“We expect other teams to play better in the next three days.”

With Mathay delivering a sizzling performance, Januarius enjoyed a 10-point edge over nine-time champion Manila Southwoods and Eastridge, who finished tied at the second spot with 139.

 Manila Southwoods didn’t do badly in the opening round. Miko Granada, an accomplished junior golfer, took the lead role as he made 37 and Filipino-British Enrique Dimayuga, a rookie in the Fil-Am, accounted for an even par 36.

Shinichi Suzuki and Jett Hernandez contributed 34 and 32 for the team’s first day 139 output.

Despite the early deficit, Southwoods captain Thirdy Escaño is not worried at all.

“We are down but not out,” Escao said.

“This is just the first day. We still have a long way to go. It wasn’t a good start and one of our players, Shinichi Suzuki, suffered a back injury in the fourth hole. I’m sure the guys will be back tomorrow.”

Over at Baguio Country Club, Batangas Barakos assembled 122 points to pace the Am Championship flight. Erik Escalona produced 34, Charles Serdeña 31, Gerald Katigbak 29 and Eric Gozo 28.

Sec. Mark “Dong” Mendoza skipped today’s opener but sent this message before the game, saying that they should “play well and enjoy the weather and company and friendship with other golfers, which is the true essence of the Fil-Am.”

At 114, Eastridge Team-2 is currently at second with Edison Tabalin, one of the country’s top amateurs, submitting a 34 while Gary Sales finished with 28, Chris Emata notched 27 and Richard Joson posted 26.

Championship Scores:

Fil — Januarius Private Equity 149, Manila Southwoods 139, Eastridge 139, SPES-1 139, Time Cargo-1 117

Am — Batangas Barakos 122, Eastridge 114, Manila Southwoods-2 113, Januarius Truespec 101, Valley Golf 82