CARMONA, Cavite – A calm Sadom Kaewkanjana fired a bogey-free 5-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead in the opening round of the Smart Infinity Philippine Open golf championship on Thursday, Jan. 23, at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club here.

As expected, those who started early struggled at the tricky Masters course that included Filipinos’ top bet Miguel Tabuena and amateur Rianne Malixi.

But the 26-year-old Thai played solid by hitting five birdies for nines of 33 and 32 to post one shot ahead of fellow Thais Danthai Boonma and Pavit Tangkamolprasert, and Australian Aaron Wilkin.

So focused and sharp was Kaewkanjana that he only missed one fairway and one green, opening him more opportunities for birdies in this 72-hole tournament.

“I’m happy with the results (today). I just played the same; I just hit more fairways and greens, and I hit my tee shots very good,” said Kaewkanjana, who won in the Asian Tour twice.

Starting at the back nine, Kaewkanjana hinted of good things to come by birdying the 11th and 14th. He hit an impressive birdie from within 25 feet on No. 17 -- his longest in the round -- then continued his momentum at the front nine with birdies on Nos. 1 and 7.

He had some hiccups along the way, including a missed green on the par-4 No. 4, but managed to salvage par.

“It’s a tough course. Some holes are tough and long. The green is small, so it’s a challenge for us,” Kaewkanjana said.

Trailing Kaewkanjana by two shots were Japan’s Yosuke Asaji, India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu, Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren, and Thailand’s Settee Prakongvech.

Aidric Chan and Sean Ramos were the best Filipino so far with identical 68s, tying with Korea’s Eom Jaewoong, Australia’s Jed Morgan, Germany’s Dominic Foos, New Zealand’s Nick Voke, Thailand’s Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij, South Africa’s Ian Snyman, and Japan’s Tatsunori Shogenji.

Meanwhile, Tabuena found himself nine shots behind the leader after stumbling with a 74.

Starting at the back nine, he fumbled with three bogeys against a birdie on his first nine holes and managed to bring it to even par with birdies on Nos. 1 and 3. But Tabuena couldn’t sustain his charge as he had two bogeys, and worse, a double bogey, on the last six holes.

“It’s just one of those days: I’m just not as sharp as in-season Miguel,” Tabuena said.

“I didn’t feel as comfy as (today) for some reason, but it’s part of it. You can’t always feel 100 percent when you play,” said Tabuena, who eyes his third tournament title here.

Malixi, the lone female player invited in the prestigious event, limped home with a 75 despite missing four fairways.

“I’m not really that disappointed because I know I was hitting it really straight, but my putts… I was hitting them well, but I couldn’t get them to sink. So far, I’ll just hope for the best (tomorrow),” the 17-year-old amateur said.