Thai golfer Renuka takes early lead in Phillipines

MANILA, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Renuka Suksukont set the early pace at the ICTSI Philippine Ladies Masters on Thursday when the Thai opened with a three-under 69 for a one stroke lead in Laguna province

Chinese Taipei's Chen Tzu-han was alone in second following a round of 70 at the 80,000 US dollars tournament.

Amateur Yuka Saso was the top Filipina at two shots back after carding a one-under 71 at The Country Club. She was tied for equal third with fellow amateurs Hwang Min-jeong of South Korea and Hung Jo-hua of Chinese Taipei in a group.

Liu Yan and amateur Du Mohan were the top Chinese mainland players in equal ninth at even-par 72.

Renuka, winner of the Singha-Sat Toyota Championship in June, took advantage of the sunny conditions in the morning to post an adventurous round that included six birdies, an eagle, two bogeys and a triple bogey.

"It was fun today. On the eagle at hole eight my second shot was 174 yards away and I put it four feet from the hole and I made it. My putts are good today," said the 22-year-old from Pathum Thani.

"Tomorrow I will just hit like today, hit on the fairway, on the green and put it in. I haven't played well for weeks so I just want to try my best to play well. I didn't set any targets before this event."

With the rain falling on the Tom Weiskopf-designed layout by afternoon, Chen managed to hold it together to post a round featuring four birdies, two bogeys and some clutch putting.

"I am really lucky today. It rained heavily for the last nine holes," she said. "I tried to control my rhythm and be more conservative but at holes 13 and 15 I made long putts, especially hole 15 where I made a 30-yard putt. I hope to get my first pro win this time."

The Country Club is a 6,303-yard, par-72 layout designed by Tom Weiskopf. Enditem