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JAKARTA - Two of the Philippines' rising young golfers set the early pace in the International Championship on the Mercedes-Benz Tour on Wednesday.
Michael Bibat and Jay Bayron fired first round three-under-par 69s at Imperial Klub Golf near Jakarta for a one stroke advantage over local amateur star Mauludin Andik.
Rory Hie, another promising young Indonesian golfer, came in with a 72. Bibat and Bayron turned professional this year and have featured prominently on the Mercedes-Benz Tour.
Bibat, who finished joint second in the Mercedes-Benz Masters Malaysia in July after leading for the first three days, fired five birdies and dropped two shots.
"It was really hot out there today so it was a tough round. I am very happy to come in three under," said Bibat, who, like Bayron, birdied the par five closing hole.
"I felt comfortable on the course and am starting to enjoy competing as a professional. Hopefully I can win a tournament soon which would really help my confidence," said Bayron, who nailed three birdies on the trot from the 10th.
Leading first round scores: Par 72
69 Jay Bayron (PHI), Michael Bibat (PHI)
70 Mauludin Andik (INA) (amateur)
71 P. Gunasegaran (MAS), Ilyasak (INA)
72 Marvin Dumandan (PHI), Rory Hie (INA)
73 Anis Helmi Hassan (MAS), Faridil Atras Othman (MAS), Sanusi (INA), Jamel
Ondo (INA), Hardjito (INA) (amateur), Irmansyah (INA)
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