Malaysia's Liyana Durisic upstaged the favourites to lead the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) with a superb opening round of six-under-par 66 at Siam Country Club in Pattaya, Thailand.

Durisic carded seven birdies and a lone bogey and has a one-shot lead over last year’s WAAP joint runners-up Kelsey Benette of Australia and Thailand’s Natthakritta Vongtaveelap. Following in solo fourth placing is Jiyoo Lim from Korea at four-under-par 68. 

Starting early off the 10th tee, Durisic kept her nerves in check as she went through her first nine holes in two-under par.

“I find the length of the course suits me well, and since I started early it wasn’t as windy. So I took it to my advantage and figured it’d be a good day to make full use of it,” she said.

The 21-year-old made a massive effort in the final stretch to score four-under through six with five birdies and one bogey. Asked how she felt about dropping a shot after her two consecutive birdies, Durisic noted that her experience as a fourth-time participant in the event proved to be advantageous.

“It was just a super nerve-wracking part where you know you’re playing good and things just go downhill for a hole; but I reminded myself to not panic and instead focus on hitting greens and making putts,” shared the Iowa State University senior, whose best finish in the WAAP is T25 at last year's edition in Abu Dhabi.

Durisic was thrilled about her first round as her mother flew all the way from Malaysia to visit and show support. “It’s always special to see her and it’s even more special because I feel like I can give her something to be proud of since she’s here,” she said.

Durisic is planning to focus on sticking to the same game plan tomorrow and be more wary as she expects it to be windier with her later tee time at 11:33am.

Zulaikah Nurziana Nasser is the next best Malaysian in T5 after submitting an excellent score of three-under par 69. The 20-year-old recorded a bogey-free round and made birdies on the 5th, 6th and 12th.

“Overall, my golf was pretty mediocre. One of the things I was happy about was how I stayed calm and didn’t get overly emotional when anything happened during the round. That helped me a lot,” said the Sam Houston State University junior.

Warda Amira Warof carded two-under par 70 to lie T11. Similar to Zulaikah, the 24-year-old kept her cool even with the hot afternoon weather and racked up three birdies and one bogey for her round.

Fellow debutant Jeneath Wong and second-time participant Audrey Tan both ended their first rounds at even-par 72. The two are currently in T30 place and are looking forward to carding better rounds tomorrow.

The youngest Malaysian representative, 14-year-old Ng Jing Xuen who is also making her WAAP debut, shot 76 and lies in T75 place.

The field’s highest-ranked player, Saki Baba of Japan, carded a one-over-par 73 and is in T43 place. The 17-year-old World No. 4 signed in one bogey and had no birdies for her first round.

Malaysia's best finish in the WAAP is sixth placing achieved by the country's current top women's amateur Ashley Lau.

The WAAP was developed by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) and The R&A to nurture talent and provide a pathway for the region’s elite women amateurs to the international stage. The champion will earn starts in three majors, the AIG Women's Open, The Amundi Evian Championship and The Chevron Championship, as well as the Hana Financial Group Championship and will receive an invitation to play in the Augusta National Women's Amateur.

For more information, visit the championship website.

Malaysian Scores:
66 (-6) - Liyana Durisic 
69 (-3) - Zulaikah Nurziana Nasser
70 (-2) - Warda Amira Rawof
72 (E) - Jeneath Wong, Audrey Tan
78 (+6) - Ng Jing Xuen