Patrick Tambalque. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The promising Patrick Tambalque carved out a three-over-par 75 under harsh conditions on Tuesday to lead Santino Pineda by a shot and two others by three strokes at the start if the ICTSI Riviera Golf Junior PGT Championship at the complex’s wind-swept Couples course.

Tambalque finished strong in the front nine to grab the pace in the centerpiece boys’ 15-18, even as Gabriela Sison assembled an 88 to open up a three-shot lead over Chloe Rada in the girls’ side of the 54-hole championship where valuable points for the Elite Finals are at stake.

“I hit almost every fairway, so that gave me a strong start,” Sison, a 16-year-old student at Kingwood High School in Texas in the United States, said. “I like the course and I actually thought that I could go lower. I need to work on my short game in the next two rounds.”

Shinichi Suzuki, the Manila Southwoods mainstay who has represented the Philippines several times, fired a 78 like Zach Villaroman to trail Tambalque by three, even as Zoji Edoc was sharp in a front nine finish to shoot a 79 and seize a six-stroke lead over James Padron in the 36-hole boys’ 7-10 division that concludes on Wednesday.

Edoc had two birdies and a bogey in his final nine holes and going all the way here means he will cement his place on the North squad for the Elite Final slated in October. Edoc, who finished third in the Junior Worlds in San Diego recently, has a leg victory at Sherwood and two second place finishes thus far.

“The best part of my game today was my tee shots,” said Edoc, who nonetheless grappled with the tricky greens, including a costly four-putt on the par-4 12th that led to a double bogey.

Ronee Dungca opened up a nine-shot lead over Tyra Garingalao in the girls’ 7-10 after a birdie-birdie finish highlighted a six-birdie round for a 73.

“The experience has been really nice. I like the course—it’s a great way to improve my skills,” said the 9-year-old Dungca.