Abby Arevalo bucked the heat and carded a bogey-free one-under 71 to grab a one-stroke lead over Malaysian Loy Hee Ying even as fancied Princess Superal hobbled with a 73 at the start of the RSGC AmBank Junior Amateur Open at Royal Selangor Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur late Tuesday.
Arevalo, a member of Team ICTSI-The Country Club, spiked his solid round with six scrambling pars although she muffed at least three birdie putts that could have given her a bigger cushion.
“But I really shot well and I’m fine with that,” said Arevalo, who rolled in an eight-footer for birdie on No. 14 then parred the rest of the holes.
Superal, coming off a win in last week’s True Visions Junior tilt in Thailand, appeared headed for a solid start when she went two-under after nine holes at the back. But she lost her rhythm at the front and fumbled with three straight bogeys from No. 5 inside 12 feet.
Sam Martirez, the third Filipina in girls’ Class B (18-and-under), turned in a 75 for fifth while Sofia Chabon opened a three-stroke lead over Indonesian Rivani Adelia Sihotang in the girls’ 15-and-below section.