(Singapore’s Brayden Lee hits his opening tee shot at the 61st South East Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship)
Host nation Singapore took the early limelight in the Lion City and Santi Cup by leading the respective competitions with their total gross score of seven and four-under in the team competition as the 61st edition of the South East Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship teed off at the Seletar Country Club on Tuesday.
16-year-old Brayden Lee set the early pace for Singapore in the Lion City Cup with an opening four-under-par 68 with Troy Storm a single shot back in second place after signing for a 69. Indonesia’s Jordan Indra Marcello and Vietnam’s Ho Anh Huy are tied for third after carding identical 71s.
“It has been a while since I started a tournament strongly and I hope to capitalise on this. After this round, we are ready to prove we have it in us to win this tournament. For me, I will just stick to my game plan. The most important thing is not to get too greedy and play the course as it is,” said Lee.
Aloysa Atienza and Inez Ng, meanwhile, signed for matching 70s in the individual competition to share the opening round lead with Malaysia’s Ng Jing Xuen and Philippines’ Junia Louise Gabasa as they help Singapore to establish a two-shot advantage over Malaysia in the team standings of the SantI Cup.
Fresh off his Singapore Open Amateur Championship win last week, Philippines’ Enrique Dimayuga continued to impress by sharing the first round lead of the Putra Cup with Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh after they returned with matching 68s.
“It was a long day with the weather delay and I’m very happy to be off the golf course and have a rest. It was a very up-and-down round. My ball striking was solid but it could have been better. It’s nice to have the momentum and put something up there on the board,” said Dimayuga.
In the Kartini Cup, Chen Xingtong overcame a rough front-nine where she ran out in 41 before charging back with five birdies in her last six holes to sign for a 73 and share the first round lead with Malaysia’s Nur Batrisyia and Thailand’s Kritchanya Kaopattanaskul.
The South East Asian Amateur Asian Golf Team Championship is a strokeplay event played over four rounds of 18 holes. In each round, the total of the lowest scores returned by the players in each team will be the team’s score for that round. The three lowest scores returned by the players in each team for each round will be the team score for that round in the Putra Cup.
For the Lion City Cup (U16), Santi Cup and Kartini Cup (U16), the team’s score for each round will be based on the lowest two scores returned by the players in each team.
Ends.
