Australians Matthew Griffin and Cameron John are four shots off the pace after the first round of the Singapore Classic, which has been reduced to 54 holes due to bad weather.
Both carded 69s to be in a share of 24th place at three under par, while England’s Marcus Armitage and Matthew Jordan shared the lead after shooting seven-under 65s.
The 41-year-old Griffin mixed four birdies with three bogeys before closing with an eagle three on the 18th.
John, 25, managed seven birdies but sullied his scorecard with a double-bogey six at nine, and two more dropped shots at 16 and 17.
Torrential rain meant no play was possible on Thursday and left large parts of Laguna National under water, but tremendous work from the club’s ground staff ensured the tournament could get under way on Friday.
“It’s amazing, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Armitage said after his first round.
“Most golf courses you wouldn’t be able to play on them for at least a week, so the greenkeepers have done an unbelievable job. The golf course has played fantastic today.”
Armitage, who finished second in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship at the end of January but had missed the cut in his past three starts, carded an eagle and six birdies in his 65, which Jordan later matched.
Jordan held the outright lead after making nine birdies in the space of 11 holes from the fourth, but dropped his second shot of the day on the 17th after hitting his tee shot into the water.
“It was enjoyable,” Jordan said. “Of course, when you shoot a score like that, it’s great.
“I hit it close, that was probably the main thing for today with these greens. If you can have some decent wedge shots, then you can work it through the tee and access some pins and that’s what I was able to do.
“The fact that it’s 54 holes doesn’t really change anything I do. You’ve got to emphasise having a good start because you don’t have as much time. That was nice to do that today.”
Li Haotong, Jordan Smith, Manuel Elvira, Callum Shinkwin and Adrien Saddier shared third place on six under par.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/golf/aussies-griffin-and-john-four-off-pace-in-singapore-c-18118805
