Singapore: Kenneth Christian John De Silva knows a thing or two about the Asian Amateur Championship, having participated in  Asia’s premier amateur tournament since its inception in 2009.

Twice he has suffered the agony of missing the halfway cut but the 21-year-old brightened his chance of playing through the weekend with superb round of five-under 67 to trail two strokes behind leader Lee Soo-min of Korea after the opening round of the third edition today.

A composed Kenneth carded three birdies on each nine with his only blemish of the round coming on hole 10th of the New Course at the Singapore Island Country Club to take a share of second alongside defending champion Hideki Matsuyama from Japan, Indonesia’s Ian Andrew and New Zealander Ben Campbell.

“This is my best amateur round “This is my amateur career best round and it is a good start,” said Kenneth. “Yes, I think if I can keep playing like this over the next few days, then I will be in a good chance to win the tournament. But for now I will have to focus on my game,” he added when asked about his title aspiration.

The other Malaysians in the field struggled to break par with Abel Tam and Low Khai Jei lying tied 37th after round of one-over-par 73.

But the story of the day belonged to the seventeen year-old Lee who capped a fantastic round featuring six birdies with an outstanding eagle on the ninth hole to sit atop the leaderboard. Currently ranked 667th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the Korean youngster took charge in the afternoon session as the course settled down after the morning downpour, which delayed the proceedings.

“The last hole was my best. This course suits me because it is narrow and suits my playing style – I am better in my long game. “I’m really pleased with today’s result and hope it continues until Sunday. I have my sights firmly set at a place in next year’s Masters which will keep me motivated over the next few days”.

Nineteen year old Matsuyama picked up where he left off last year, registering a flawless score of 67, with four birdies and an eagle on the sixteenth.

An invitation to the 2012 Masters Tournament awaits the champion this week, with both the winner and the runner(s)-up earning places in International Final Qualifying for The Open Championship.

A total of 120 players are taking part from the 35 participating countries in this year’s tournament.

Leading first round scores
65 Lee Soo-Min (KOR)
67 Kenneth De Silva (MAS), Ian Andrew (IND), Hideki Matsuyama (JPN), Ben Campbell (NZL)
68 Jake Higginbottom (AUS), Art Markhael Arbole (PHI), Cameron Smith (AUS), Tze Huang Choo (SIN)
69 Ryan Fox (NZL), Yosuke Asaji (JPN), Vaughan McCall (NZL)

Selected others:
73 Abel Tam, Low Khai Jei
76 Paul San
77 Mohammad Hisyam Abdul Majid
79 Jeremiah Kim