The Aucklander birdied his final two holes on Thursday to move clear of Thailand’s Nopparat Panichphol at the Asian Tour’s season finale.
It continues an impressive run of form for Voke, who arrived in Manila after finishing tied fourth at the Hong Kong Open.
Fellow New Zealander Denzel Ieremia had a contrasting opening day, with the Asian Tour leaderboard listing him as retired and no completed round recorded. The reason has not yet been confirmed.
Voke Finishes With A Flourish
Starting from the 10th on the Masters Course, Voke dropped his only shot of the round at the 12th.
He recovered with a birdie at the par-three 17th before another gain at the par-five 18th took him through his opening nine in one-under 34.
More birdies followed at the second and sixth.
Then came the finish that carried him to the top.
Voke birdied both the eighth and ninth to complete his closing nine in four-under 31 and sign for a six-birdie 65.
That left him one clear of Panichphol, who opened with 66.
Strong Chasing Group
Thailand’s Tawit Polthai and Sarut Vongchaisit share third at three-under alongside Americans Kevin Na and Andy Ogletree and South Korea’s Jeongwoo Ham.
With plenty of experienced players immediately behind him, Voke will have little room for error in round two.
But his opening performance provides further evidence of the form that carried him into contention in Hong Kong.
There, Voke sat tied 25th through two rounds before weekend scores of 64 and 68 lifted him into a share of fourth.
Now he has gone one step further in Manila by setting the early benchmark.
Round One Leaders
| Player | Country | Position | Round One | To Par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Voke | New Zealand | 1st | 65 | -5 |
| Nopparat Panichphol | Thailand | 2nd | 66 | -4 |
| Tawit Polthai | Thailand | T3 | 67 | -3 |
| Sarut Vongchaisit | Thailand | T3 | 67 | -3 |
| Kevin Na | United States | T3 | 67 | -3 |
| Andy Ogletree | United States | T3 | 67 | -3 |
| Jeongwoo Ham | South Korea | T3 | 67 | -3 |
| Denzel Ieremia | New Zealand | Retired | — | — |
Ieremia Listed As Retired
Ieremia had been due to begin his opening round from the 10th tee alongside Antonio Lascuña and Lu Wei-chih.
However, the official scoring showed the Kiwi as retired, with no individual hole scores or round total listed.
No reason for the retirement had been confirmed at the time of writing, so it would be premature to attribute it to injury, illness or any other cause.
Voke Takes Lead Into Friday
The Philippine Open closes the 2026 Asian Tour season, giving Voke an opportunity to turn his recent form into a significant final-week result.
His opening 65 has put him exactly where he wants to be.
After chasing the leaders in Hong Kong, the Kiwi heads into the second round in Manila with everyone else chasing him.
