Amateur Sam Martirez (left) flashes awesome form off the mound. Mia Piccio (right) and her caddie check the line of her putt on No. 3

CARMONA, Cavite – Amateur Sam Martirez charged home with three birdies in the last five holes at the front to fire a stirring bogey-free five-under 67, catching pros Mia Piccio, Korean Lee Jeong-hwa and Japanese Yumi Takabayashi at the helm at the start of the ICTSI Champion Tour presented by Champion and Taiwan LPGA at Southwoods’ Legends course here yesterday.

Martinez, a member of Team The Country Club which regularly trains at the Jack Nicklaus-designed twin layouts, bucked a late start at the back with birdies on Nos. 10 and 13 but hovered in the middle of the starting 69-player field with a slew of pars until she caught fire again and birdied Nos. 5, 7 and 8.

That gave the 17-year-old graduate of the Masters Academy Home School a rare view of the top alongside Piccio and Splendido leg winner Lee, who took different routes but produced the same results, and Takabayashi, who birdied two of the last five holes at the back to make it a crowded leaderboard in the $75,000 event sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

The four stood two shots clear of Taiwan Wu Yi-ching and last week’s runner-up Fumika Kawagishi of Japan, who carded identical 69s, and three-up on Taiwanese Chen Hanna, Japanese Senno Yasufuku, Thai Kanphanitnan Muangkhumaskul and Korea Gu Na-eun, who churned out similar 70s in what promises to be a spirited battle for the top $15,000 purse in this second leg of the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour and sixth stage of the Taiwan LPGA Tour.

Chihiro Ikeda, Koreans Kang Ji-won and amateur Hwang Min-jeong and Taiwanese Chen Chi-hui and Chen Min-jou all carded 71s while Dottie Ardina and amateurs Annika Cedo and Yuka Saso joined Taiwanese Yu Pei-lin, Lee Chia-pei, Kuo Ai-chen, Yen Hsin-ning and Huang Hsien-wen at 16th with even par 72s.

“My putting played a big role in my game today (yesterday). It saved me a lot of strokes and I made a lot of birdies,” said Martirez, an incoming freshman at the California Baptist University in California who won the Costa Mesa Women’s Amateur crown in California last year.

But she will be as much as tested as her co-leaders as they set out for the pivotal Round 2 today where pressure is expected to double up in pursuit of the lead and the momentum going to tomorrow’s final round of the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and backed by adidas, Custom Clubmakers, KZG, TaylorMade, Champion, Summit Natural Drinking Water, Pacsports, Sharp and Rustans Supermarket.

“I didn’t expect this score but I played good and cashed in on the good breaks,” said the 24-year-old Piccio, who settled for joint ninth in last week’s Splendido stage. “Unlike last week, my short game and putting clicked today (yesterday).”

When asked of her plans in the next two days, Piccio, member of the national team that won the SEA Games gold in 2009, stressed the need to be patient, saying: “There’s no need to push things up. I’ve got to play with a lot of patience.”

Teeing off at the same time but on opposite nines, Piccio actually turned in a lower 32 at the back, including three birdies in a four-hole stretch from No 14 only to slow down with just one birdie at the front where Lee, seeking a sweep of the two-leg TLPGA events, sizzled with three birdies before adding two more on Nos. 14 and 15.

“I played a well-coordinated game. My putting, short game, irons are simply good,” said Lee, who won the Philippine Ladies Open at Wack Wack in 2012 and captured the Hong Kong Ladies Open last year.

Equally impressive was the 29-year-old Takabayashi, who didn’t see action at Splendido and just had a couple of practice rounds at Southwoods but still rattled off seven birdies that negated her bogeys on Nos. 5 and 12 to force a four-way tie.

Kawagishi, out to atone for her late-hole meltdown at Splendido, failed to keep in step in the early going with Piccio in one of the featured flights but birdied the last two holes to shoot a 69 and put herself in contention for the second straight week.

Wu also rallied with two birdies in the last four holes to join Kawagishi at fifth.

Former LPGT leg winner Jayvie Agojo hobbled with a 73 in a tie with Japan’s Mayumi Chinzei, Taiwanese amateurs Chang Tzu-Yi and Jane Lo, and Thais Saranporn Langkulgasettrin and Alisara Wedchakama while Pauline del Rosario, the other TCC bet, groped for form and ended up with a 74 in a tie with Taiwan’s Chen Yu-ju and Korean Grace Lee.