Hiroshi Tai spearheaded Team Singapore’s charge at the World Amateur Team Championships (WATC) on Wednesday by carding a seven-under-par 65 to propel the nation to a share of fourth place on the team leaderboard with their three-under-par total after the opening day.
Mexico holds the first round lead with their seven-under-par total, with South Africa trailing by two shots in second, while France is in third place on four-under-par.
Hai, an undergraduate from Georgia Institute of Technology, enjoyed one of his best rounds on the Tampines course at Tanah Merah Country Club, crediting his precise iron play and sharp wedge game to set the early pace for Singapore.
“I got off to a pretty good start, I think. Made a couple of birdies in the first nine holes. I hit pretty good tee shots that put me in good spots to make good approach shots into the green.
“I could be pretty aggressive with some of the wedge shots that I had, getting good numbers. And then I made some nice birdie putts as well. Overall, pretty good and really happy with how I played,” said Tai.
Although the 23-year-old is enjoying a fine run of form, he admitted that pre-round nerves still play a role in his game.
“I think the day I stop getting nervous, before a round, I’ll probably stop playing golf. I’ll go do something else,” said Tai.
Singapore Golf Association (SGA) national coach Murray Smit was, meanwhile, full of praise for Tai and believes Brayden Lee and Troy Storm can back him up when they return to the tee, after returning with a 76 and 84, respectively.
“Hiroshi’s round was just out of this world to shoot seven-under on this golf course, just shows why he’s one of the top amateurs in the world and why he’s won some of the biggest events.
“In terms of the two players behind him, obviously, Troy had a really tough day out there today, but I think he’ll get better through the week. I’m pretty proud of Braden as well. He played okay, just didn’t make the putts when he needed to. But he really hung in there for the team, knowing that his second score would count,” said Smit.
Mexico’s Carlos Astiazaran was also pleased with his team’s strong start as they will start the second round in pole position after combining the two best scores of his 68 and Eduardo Derbez (69).
“We put some solid rounds together and definitely have some good momentum building going forward,” said Astiazaran. “It’s awesome — I love representing Mexico, and it makes it a little more special this week. When we were walking on 16 and saw our name up there, I looked over to our manager and said, that’s where we wanted to be all week. It’s a cool feeling.”
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: Hiroshi Tai. Photo credit: The Picture Suite/Singapore Golf Association.
