There was an element of nostalgia in Jeunghun Wang’s two-under-par 70 today at the Philippine Golf Championship presented by Philippine Sports Commission.

It moved him into a share of the clubhouse lead on five under at Wack Wack Golf & Country Club in Manila – reviving memories of his first ever appearance on the Asian Tour here 15 years ago.

His compatriot Wooyoung Cho is on the same total having also shot a 70, after the morning session was completed in the season opening event on the Asian Tour.

Chinese-Taipei Hung Chien-yao is two back in outright third, having returned a 71. Suteepat Prateeptienchai from Thailand and Filipino Brycen Ko are next best placed, another shot behind, after rounds of 68 and 70 respectively.

In 2011, aged 16 and still an amateur, Wang [main picture] competed in the Philippine Open here and although he missed the cut it marked the start of his career on the international stage. He went on to win three times on the DP World Tour, one of those, the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open – a tournament joint sanctioned with the Asian Tour.

Jeunghun Wang.

Said the 30-year-old: “I don’t actually remember the course from back then, but when I played here, I was really nervous. That’s what I remember, actually.”

There were no such nerves today. He was bogey free, making his first birdie on the 16^th – he started on 10 – before another birdie on the fifth.

The Korean has not tasted victory since the 2017 Qatar Masters although he has been on the cusp of of winning many times, including at last year’s Moutai Singapore Open, where he was beaten by Japan’s Yosuke Asaji in a sudden-death play-off.

“I’m really happy that I didn’t make any bogeys today. Yeah, I’m really happy, and hopefully I can keep not making bogeys on this course,” he added.

“I hit a lot of fairways and my short irons have been pretty good this week. So always just regulation play on the greens, and just two putts. I’m not too aggressive on this course.”

He also revealed he visited the course two weeks ago and practiced for about an hour and a half at the famous venue.

Wooyoung Cho.

Cho, also started on 10, and drew level with Wang after making birdie on the ninth, his final hole. He also made a birdie on the daunting par-three 17^th, which rarely sees twos.

On his birdie on the last he said: “It was a very hard shot. The second shot was from the [fairway] bunker. I was in the bunker and had a very high bunker lip, so I was just trying hit it very high, yeah, that was it.”

On the 17^th, he added: “Yeah, I pray every time I get to 17 but yesterday was a very nice shot and today also very nice shot, so I have good confidence in my iron game.”

The Korean, a professional for two years, is looking to win for the first time on the Asian Tour.

He arrived in the Philippines having spent the off-season practicing in Thailand, getting away from the winter in Korea.

“I’ve just had a lot of practice in Thailand, so that’s why I’m hitting it very nice now. In the winter season I was in Pattaya at Siam Country Club,” said the Korean, who explained he hit a lot of two and three irons off the tees to tackle the famously tight and tough East Course.