SINGAPORE - The Republic's golf team did not have the best of build-ups to the SEA Games, being rocked by the absence of defending champion James Leow and the late withdrawal of the Covid-hit Justin Kuk earlier this week.
But that did not seem to matter at the Heron Lake Golf Course in Hanoi on Friday (May 13) with Hiroshi Tai carding a three-under 69 to lie second, one shot behind the leader, Thailand's Weerawish Narkprachar.
Ryan Ang shot a 71 to tie for fifth with Minh Nguyen Anh of Vietnam and Thailand's Ratchanon Chantananuwat.
"Today was a long day and it got pretty hot and windy at the end. So I did my best to hang in there," said the 20-year-old Tai. "It was nice to see all my teammates support at the end. That is a cool part of this event."
Brandon Han was tied for 19th on 76 whilst Wong Qi Wen was in T27 with an 80.
In the women's division, Hailey Loh shot a one-under 71 to tie for third with Malaysia's Jeneath Wong, four shots behind Thai co-leaders Eila Galitsky and Natthakritta Vongtaveelap.
Inez Ng and Aloysa Atienza both shot 74 to lie in the T5 position with Indonesia's Ida Ayu.
The competition is a 54-hole event.