STA. ROSA, Laguna — Thai star Sarit Suwannarut set the tone on a scorching day at the International Series Philippines, lighting up Sta. Elena Golf and Country Club with a brilliant eight-under-par 64 during the morning session on Thursday.

No one in the afternoon group, including former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, was able to catch Sarit’s blazing pace.

Johnson, despite a solid effort, settled for a five-under-par round, leaving Sarit comfortably atop the leaderboard.

After a lone bogey on the second hole — sandwiched between birdies — Sarit stormed through the last 13 holes with seven birdies. His aggressive play was aided by the “lift, clean, and replace” rule on the fairways and receptive greens.

Sarit was impressed with Sta. Elena’s layout.

“It’s not as long as some golf courses, but the rough and everything is pretty big. If you missed your position, it’s really hard to get it out,” he said.

The two-time International Series winner noted that hitting well and placing the ball in the right spots are key to scoring low.

Japanese Kazuki Higa went bogey-free in a round of 65 with four players matching 66s – Americans Charles Porter and George Kneiser, Richard Bland of Scotland, and Thai Chapchai Nirat.

The marquee pairing of Johnson, fellow major champion Louis Oosthuizen, and local hero Miguel Tabuena drew the biggest gallery.

Johnson showed his class with nine birdies but was derailed by a double bogey on the 15th hole.

“I played well — anytime you make nine birdies, you know you’re hitting a lot of good shots and getting plenty of birdie opportunities,” said the two-time major champion. 

“Obviously, that one bad drive on 15 cost me a double bogey, but other than that, it was a really solid round. I’m very pleased with how I played and feel I’m in a great position going into tomorrow and the rest of the week.”

Tabuena matched Clyde Mondilla’s 69 despite neck problems.

Three straight birdies from 15 and a brilliant escape from the bunker on 18 iced Tabuena’s fightback.

“I think three birdies in the last four, I mean that’s a great kind of way to come back in,” he said.

“I’m not 100 percent right now, but I know with my team, we can recover later tonight and get ready for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, it was nice to see them when I first teed off on the first tee, it was nice they were out in full force,” he said. 

“You know they were always there and it’s nice because I don’t get that every week. So I’m going to use that as a positive and try to play for them this week.”

Oosthuizen parred the first eight holes before making three birdies against two bogeys the rest of the way for a 71.

Thirty-four players shot in the 60s, underscoring the quality of competition, with 76 players breaking par.

Among the big stars who produced big numbers were Australian Marc Leishman with 68, Dean Burmester 67, Peter Uihlein 68, Kevin Na 69, and Dominic Foos 69.