MIRI: A costly opening round has left national junior elite golfer Joshua Lim Zhi Xing with ground to make up after carding a five-over-par 77 in the opening round of the 23rd Sarawak Premier Cup Sarawak International Junior Golf Championship here on Monday (July 13).
The 17-year-old from Kuching is tied for fourth in the Boys A category with Sri Lanka’s Kaiyan Jai Algama Bede Johnpillai, trailing overnight leader Pranai Reankrai of Thailand by five shots.
Pranai carded an even-par 72 to take the early lead, while Anis Dylan Sinno was second on 74 and Jarvis Liew Jun Xin occupied third with a 75.
Pranai also leads the overall boys’ standings, ahead of Mohd Rafiq Anugerah Ali and Mohamad Danish Mohamad Rizal, who both returned one-under-par 73s.
Thailand continued its impressive start through Charles James Anderson, who led the Boys B division with a two-over-par 74, while Salahuddin Azuri Azman topped the Boys C category after shooting 77.
In the girls’ competition, Thailand’s Namon Luangnitikul emerged as the standout performer of the opening round, firing a two-under-par 70 to lead both the Girls B division and the overall girls’ standings.
Nurlyana Yasmin Ruzkinain and Amelia Lee shared the Girls A lead after both carded even-par 72s, while Indonesia’s Amira Ajda Khairunnisa Permadi headed the Girls C division with a 75.
Meanwhile, Aarthi Ganesan leads the three-player Girls Special category after posting a 78.
