SINGAPORE: Muhammad Afif Mohd Razif and Bryan Teo Wiyang led the way for the Malaysians on the opening day of the 2018 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship on Thursday.

The pair signed for matching even-par 70s to lie six shots off the lead with top-ranked national amateur Ervin Chang a further two strokes back with a 72.

University of Toledo freshman Muhammad Afif Mohd Fathi and veteran Chan Tuck Soon posted opening efforts of 74 and 76 respectively with the ultra-slick greens at Sentosa Golf Club’s New Tanjong layout separating the pretenders from the contenders.

At the top of the leaderboard, Australia’s  David Micheluzzi capped a near-perfect round with a thunderous eagle on the 18th for a 64.

It handed the world number 13 a one-shot advantage over the trio of Lloyd Jefferson Go of the Philippines, Chinese Taipei’s Yung-Hua Liu and 2015 champion Jin Cheng of China.

The tenth anniversary edition of Asia-Pacific’s elite amateur meet will once again reward the champion with an invite to the 2019 Masters Tournament and a spot at the 148th Open Championship in Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland.