Brayden Lee bounced back from a challenging opening day to card a one-over-par 73, helping Team Singapore finish the second round of the World Amateur Team Championships (WATC) in a share of 12th place with the Netherlands on Thursday.
The 18-year-old, who won the Royal Junior title in Japan earlier this year, started the day with a 76 but improved by three shots in the second round. The teenager mixed three birdies with two bogeys and a double-bogey, adding his score to Hiroshi Tai’s 71 for a combined total of three-under-par 141, leaving Singapore 11 shots behind leaders South Africa.
Troy Storm returned a 77, though his score did not count toward the team total, as only the two best rounds each day are considered
“I was more composed today. It wasn’t a lucky day yesterday. The putts just didn’t drop, but today I hit some shots close on the back nine and made birdies,” said Lee.
Lee, together with Tai and Storm, will be looking to follow the advice of national coach Murray Smit as they prepare for the final two rounds.
“He (Murray) told us to stay patient,” said Lee. “You can’t let a couple of early bogeys at the start of the round disrupt your rhythm. We’re still in a pretty good spot as a team, so we just have to keep going, try to sneak in a few more birdies each day, and see where we finish.”
Christiaan Maas, who matched his opening-round effort of 66, played a pivotal role in propelling South Africa to the top of the leaderboard, where they now hold a five-shot advantage over Australia, England, and France.
The 22-year-old, ranked sixth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR®), has laid down an early marker for the chasing pack, making clear his ambition to lift the Eisenhower Trophy for South Africa.
“The goal is to win and be up there on the leaderboard. I’ll stick to my own game plan as much as possible and try to execute that on every shot — and we’ll see where that gets me,” said Maas, who finished fourth in this year’s Investec South African Open Championship.
Hosted by the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) and conducted by the International Golf Federation (IGF), the WATC is held every two years and is widely regarded as the pinnacle of amateur team golf.
The official tee times and scoring are available here.
Main picture: Brayden Lee. Photo credit: The Picture Suite/Singapore Golf Association.
