A seasoned competitor, the 22-year-old Micheluzzi know that means little with 54 holes still to go.
“I have been working on my pitching the last couple of weeks and that was just a perfect shot,” said Micheluzzi, who also had six birdies and two bogeys in his round. “…Obviously, it is just the first round of the tournament, but it is always good to be up in the lead. I have got three more rounds to go and I just need to take it shot-by-shot really.”
Micheluzzi leads three players by a single shot, including Cheng Jin, the 2015 champion. Jin, of China, gave a hint at his scoring capability when he got hot in the middle of his round. Starting on No. 10, he was even through the first eight holes before making five birdies in a six-hole stretch. He finished with 65.
“I did not have a good start, but I made some clutch putts to not fall back early. And after I made the birdie on the 18th, I gave myself chances by hitting some good drives and then converting those opportunities,” said Jin, who finished fifth at this event last year when it was played Royal Wellington Golf Club in New Zealand.
“Sometimes, having won the tournament before can have its disadvantages because there are more expectations of you. But I know I have done it once, so I can do it again. That gives me a lot of confidence.”
Yung-Hua Liu, of Taiwan, and Lloyd Jefferson Go, of the Philippines, also had 65. For Go, this is a familiar feeling. Go started the Western Amateur with a 63 that gave him a share of the opening lead. On that week in July, Go said he had been struggling with his game. A two-time Big East Player of the Year while at Seton Hall, Go faded away in the following stroke-play rounds at the Western and ended up not making match play. He can author a very different story in Singapore.That's how you finish a round! 🔥 A stunning 🦅from @DavidMicheluzzi drives him to the top of the leaderboard. You can watch #AAC2018 live 👉https://t.co/nuLZYxLcVj #CreatingHeroes ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/ajStn4Et0T
— AAC_Golf (@AAC_Golf) October 4, 2018
This is the sixth Asia-Pacific appearance for Go, 23.
“I felt I did everything very well. Unfortunately, I made bogeys on my last two holes, but otherwise I drove the ball well, hit my iron shots close and made the putts,” said Go, who had started with three birdies in his first five holes.
Australia’s Min Woo Lee was among a group of five players tied for the fifth place at 4-under 66. It was a solid round from Lee, who is one of the favorites this week. Lee is No. 6 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Ranking.
The group at 66 also includes Cal senior K.K. Limbhasut, Indonesia’s Naraajiie Ramadhan, China’s Zheng Kai Bai and Korea’s Jin-Bo Ha.
Information from www.aacgolf.com used in this report