SINGAPORE - The 2017 Community Youth Golf League got underway on Monday (June 12) with the first leg held at the Orchid Country Club. A total of 56 golfers aged 14 to 16 from six secondary schools took part.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the league and its parent Youth Golf Programme (YGP), which aims to give youth golfers who do not have golf club memberships opportunities to learn and play golf with their peers.

The boys' leader after the first leg was Secondary 3 student Brandon Han from St. Gabriel's Secondary School, who fired a gross score of 73, or two-under for the par-73 course at Orchid Country Club.

Said Brandon, who has a handicap of 1.4: "Overall I thought my performance was okay today. My short game was good and I managed to recover well from some bad shots I made."

Girls' leader Joveanne Kuah, who is a Sec 3 student at Hai Sing Catholic School, felt she could have done better on the day.

"I was solid with my driver today but I wasn't as good with the irons," said the 17-handicapper, who shot a 94.

The YGP currently has 181 participating golfers across four proficiency levels.

The programme, which began in 1997, is the brainchild of the late Tay Cheng Khoon, the former sports editor at The Straits Times.

Its 4,000-strong alumni include current golf professionals Johnson Poh and Koh Sock Hwee.