Brayden Lee Raises Hosts' Spirits with Opening 68

Singapore: Brayden Lee, Troy Storm, Aloysa Atienza and Inez Ng delivered a fast start for hosts Singapore in the 61st edition of the Southeast Asian Amateur Golf Team Championships.

The 16-year-old Lee set the early pace in the Lion City Cup with an opening four-under-par 68 at the Seletar Country Club. Storm is a single shot back in second place after signing for a 69.

Indonesian Jordan Indra Marcello and Vietnam’s Ho Anh Huy are tied for third after carding 71s on a day when weather disrupted play.

Meanwhile, Atienza and Ng signed for matching 70s in the Santi Cup’s individual competition to share the opening-round lead with Malaysian Ng Jing Xuen and Junia Louise Gabasa of the Philippines. In the team standings, Singapore are two shots ahead of Malaysia at the top of the leaderboard.

Reflecting on his round, Lee said: “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.”

Fresh from his Singapore Open Amateur Championship win last week, Philippines’ Enrique Dimayuga carded a 68 to share the first-round lead in the Putra Cup with Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh.

“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 recovered well from a front-nine 41, charging back with five birdies in her last six holes to sign for a 73 and share the first round lead with Malaysian Nur Batrisyia and Thai Kritchanya Kaopattanaskul.

The Southeast Asian Amateur Team Championships are played over four 18-hole rounds of stroke. 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 (Under-16), Santi Cup and Kartini Cup (Under-16), a team’s score for each round is based on the lowest two scores returned by the players in each team.