Vinh Phuc, May 13 (VNA) – Thai golfer Weerawish Narkprachar has led the first round of the men’s single category at SEA Games 31.

The 18-hole event was held at Heron Lake Golf Course & Resort in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

Weerawish took the lead with 4 under par. Hiroshi Hirahara Tai of Singapore came second (-3), and Pongsapak Laopakdee of Thailand and Indonesian Amadeus Christian Susanto were joint third (-2).

Vietnamese golfer Nguyen Anh Minh finished the round 1 under, alongside Ervin Chang of Singapore and Ratchanon Chantananuwat of Thailand.

In the women’s group, Natthakritta Vongtaveelap and Eila Galitsky, both from Thailand, are leading the first round both scoring 5 under par.

Natthakritta is one of the best golfers in Thailand. The 20-year-old golfer is world No 79. She is the athlete with the second-best world ranking at this year’s Games.

The athlete with the highest ranking is currently 18-year-old Malaysian female golfer Jeneath Wong (No 64).

A total of 55 golfers from nine countries began competing at SEA Games 31 on May 13.

The athletes are to vie for four sets of medals in men's singles, women's singles, men's and women's teams. They will go through three rounds of stroke play to compete for medals in the men's and women's singles, with the results used to seed the team competition.

SEA Games 31, themed “For a Stronger South East Asia”, features 40 sports with 523 events, it is expected to attract around 10,000 participants. The biennial event was initially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic./.