GEN. TRIAS, Cavite – Learning from his struggles at Pradera Verde, Ivan Monsalve took a different mental approach into the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Championship – and it paid off handsomely. With swirling winds and an unforgiving layout making scoring a premium, Monsalve defied the odds and the elements, firing a gutsy one-under-par 71 to seize the early lead at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club here on Monday. Monsalve outshone the field of seasoned campaigners and rising stars, banking on his solid short game to offset missed greens in regulation. He birdied No. 14, bogeyed the next, and reeled off a string of pars before picking up strokes on Nos. 5 and 8. Though he dropped a shot on the ninth, his 35-36 proved enough to emerge as the day’s best score. Sean Ramos birdied No. 15 to salvage a 74, matching Hyun Ho Rho’s output for joint second, while seasoned pro Tony Lascuña squandered an even-par card after 15 holes, stumbling with a double bogey-bogey finish for a 75 and a share of fourth with Lloyd Go, Taewon Ha, Ryan Monsalve, Jeffren Lumbo and recent PGT Q-School topnother and Pradera leg third placer Jaehyun Jung. Clyde Mondilla, a multi-titled champion accustomed to grinding out victories in challenging conditions, looked poised for a solid round after shaking off an opening-hole bogey with back-to-back birdies from No. 2. But as the winds picked up and the Faldo course bared its teeth, his game began to unravel. Mondilla stumbled with bogeys on Nos. 9 and 11, then yielded a costly double-bogey on the 16th before dropping another stroke on the next hole. By the time he reached the clubhouse, his scorecard read a disappointing four-over-par 76, placing him alongside Russell Bautista, Albin Engino, Josh Jorge, Kakeru Ozeki, and Kento Watanabe – all of whom endured tough finishes on a day when the course showed no mercy. Angelo Que, fresh off a commanding six-shot victory at Pradera Verde, carded a 39-38 round for a five-over-par 77 – no thanks to a bogey-bogey-double bogey-bogey slide.