Jet Hernandez surged to a commanding start in the National Strokeplay Championship on a rain-soaked Wednesday, firing a seven-under-par 65 to open up a seven-shot lead and put himself in prime position to defend his title.
The 21-year-old University of Denver standout wasted little time asserting himself, reaching the par-4 fourth green off the tee before converting a 15-foot eagle putt. He then added three birdies over a four-hole stretch starting at the sixth to card a front-nine 32 and pull away from the field.
“Everything just worked for me, most especially my putting,” said the incoming University of Denver senior, who is aiming to win the championship for the second straight time after capturing the 2024 crown. The tournament was not held last year.
“It’s like every putt I looked at had a chance to go in,” he added. “This is a tough course. It just so happened that I was able to find most of the fairways and I putted so well.”
Vito Sarines emerged as Hernandez’s closest challenger after a 39-33 round of 72. The 13-year-old sits one stroke ahead of Jet’s brother, Emilio Gabriel Hernandez; two shots clear of a three-way tie for fourth; and three shots in front of pre-tournament favorite Rolando Bregente heading into Thursday’s second round, where more inclement weather is expected.
Another promising youngster, 14-year-old Ralph Batican, the protégé of golfing legend Frankie Miñoza, carded a 75 to trail by nine strokes as the rain made the already demanding 7,000-yard layout play even longer.
Bregente, who tied for fourth alongside Hernandez at the Singapore Amateur Open two weeks ago, struggled to find his rhythm. A double bogey on the third hole set the tone for a difficult day, and he closed with three bogeys on the back nine in a birdie-less round of 75.
National pool member Chris Remata also labored through a 75, leaving both him and Bregente with significant ground to make up if they hope to contend over the weekend.
While the men’s division saw Hernandez establish early control, the women’s competition remains much tighter.
Fourteen-year-old Lisa Sarines carded a one-under-par 70 — the only sub-par round in the division — to take a three-shot lead over Tashanah Balangauan.
“I wasn’t really expecting to play this well,” Lisa Sarines said. “But my irons were just on point the entire round. That’s why things worked out the way they did.”
Multi-titled 15-year-old Precious Zaragosa of Canlubang struggled through the opening 14 holes at seven-over before closing with her lone birdie of the day on No. 9 — her final hole — to finish eight shots off the lead.
Maurysse Abalos, Jules Gaerlan, and Crista Miñoza each turned in rounds of 79, while Johanna Uyking shot an 81 to fall further behind heading into the second round.
