Abby Arevalo birdied the last hole to cap a one-over-par 73 to trail Thailand’s Pimnipa Panthong by one shot after the first round of the Singapore Junior Golf Championship 2015 at Keppel Golf Club in Singapore late Wednesday.
Arevalo, chasing a follow-up to her two-stroke victory over ICTSI-The Country Club teammate Princess Superal in the RSGC AmBank Junior Amateur Open in Malaysia last month, cushioned two bogeys on the front nine with three birdies against two bogeys on the last nine holes for nines of 38-35 in the 54-hole tournament.
Panthong matched par with four birdies and as many bogeys in the 15-17 division.
Arevalo shared second spot with American Chloe Wong.
Sam Martirez shot a 75 for joint fifth with Chen Wan Qing while Pauline del Rosario, also coming off a win in the Sportexcel Juniors with teammate Mika Fortuna in Malaysia, struggled to a 76.
Bernice Ilas birdied Nos. 16 and 17 to save a 74 and paced a 1-2 effort by the Filipinas in the 12-14 class. Sofia Chabon made a 77.