Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Riding a hot putter, Japan’s Tomoko Suzuki claimed opening-day honours in the 2022 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Senior Amateur Championship.

In the inaugural staging of the Women’s Senior Amateur Championship, Suzuki fired a two-under-par 70 to soar to the top of the leaderboard at Kota Permai Golf & Country Club, outscoring pre-tournament favourite Australian Sue Wooster by five strokes.

In the men’s event, which is being held concurrently at the same venue, Korean Kim Yang-kwon and New Zealand’s Michael Barltrop returned 74s to share the lead with five other players within two shots.

On a day that began with intermittent rain before heating up and with greens reaching 11.5 on the Stimpmeter – the device used to measure the speed of the putting surfaces – many players found the going tough.

Suzuki, a plus-one handicapper who turned 53 last month, coped better than anyone. Teeing off from the 10th, the Japanese, whose home course is Gifuseki Country Club, was quickly into her stride.

Finding the slick putting surfaces very much to her liking, this year's Japan Women's Senior Open runner-up covered her opening nine in two-under 34. She then negotiated the front nine in even-par 36.

Runner-up in the US Senior Women’s Amateur Championship in three of the past four years, Wooster made a slower start, requiring 39 shots on her first nine.

The Victorian, who arrived in the Malaysian capital in bullish mood on the back of two recent victories on home soil, matched her playing partner’s second nine 36 to keep alive her hopes in the 54-hole event.

Heading into the second round, Wooster is in second place, one shot in front of fellow-Australian Jacqueline Morgan. Japan’s Hiroko Oga and Malaysian Lam Kui Moi were the only two other women to break 80, both signing for 78s.

In the women’s team event in which the best two daily scores in each team are counted, Suzuki’s best-of-the-day return helped Japan to a 148 aggregate and a three-shot advantage from Australia. There is then a 13-shot gap back to hosts Malaysia in third.

In the men’s event there were 17 sub-80 returns, led by Kim and Barltrop.

Teeing off from the first hole at 7.30 am in steady rain in the first flight of the tournament, Barltrop set the early clubhouse pace with two nines of 37.

Kim, who teed-off an hour later from number 10, was one-under through nine but dropped three strokes on his inward half.

Australians Ian Frost and Ken Brewer signed for 75s and were joined in equal third place by Singapore’s Jimmy Aw with Syren Johnstone the leading Hong Kong player on 76, alongside Australian Greg Rhodes.

Among seven players on 78 was Tim Pinnegar, winner of last week’s Singapore Open Senior Amateur Championship, ahead of Aw.

Thanks to the efforts of Frost, Brewer and Rhodes, Australia opened up an eight-shot lead in the men’s team event.

With the three best daily scores counting in each team, Australia’s total of 226 puts them in a commanding position ahead of Singapore (234), Hong Kong (235) and Korea and India (both 236)

Men’s Team Scores

226 – Australia (Ian Frost 75, Ken Brewer 75, Greg Rhodes 76)
234 – Singapore (Jimmy Aw 75, Tim Pinnegar 78, Lai Chee Weng 81)
235 – Hong Kong (Syren Johnstone 76, Doug Williams 78, Tony Taylor 81)
236 – Korea (Kim Yang-kwon 74, Jang Heong-seo 78, Lim Nae-rack 84); India (Ajai Singh Sirohi 78, David D’Souza 78, Dilip Sharma 80)
239 – New Zealand (Michael Barltrop 74, Malcolm Gullery 79, William Houng-Lee 86)
249 – Malaysia (Sazaly Hassan 79, Mohd Salim Mohd Sain 83, Mohd Zain Mahamod 87)

Women’s Team Scores

148 – Japan (Tomoko Suzuki 70, Hiroko Oga 78)
151 – Australia (Sue Wooster 75, Jacqueline Morgan 76)
164 – Malaysia (Lam Kui Moi 78, Ireen Teng 86)
170 – Hong Kong (Felicia Louey 84, Cathy Chung 86)

Leading Men’s Individual Scores

74 – Kim Yang-kwon (Korea); Michael Barltrop (New Zealand)
75 – Ian Frost (Australia); Jimmy Aw (Singapore); Ken Brewer (Australia)
76 – Syren Johnstone (Hong Kong); Greg Rhodes (Australia)
78 – Stewart Lee Beck (Malaysia); Doug Williams (Hong Kong); Mitchell Steel (Scotland); Ajai Singh Sirohi (India); David D’Souza (India); Tim Pinnegar (Singapore); Jang Heong-soo (Korea)
79 – Sazaly Hassan (Malaysia); Malcolm Gullery (New Zealand); Mark Allen (Australia)

Leading Women’s Individual Scores

70 – Tomoko Suzuki (Japan)
75 – Sue Wooster (Australia)
76 – Jacqueline Morgan (Australia)
78 – Hiroko Oga (Japan); Lam Kui Moi (Malaysia)