Golf 

Runchanapong Youprayong of Thailand tops the first round of the Lexus Challenge 2024 in Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu Province. Photo of VGA

VŨNG TÀU — Thai golfers took the top three positions when the Lexus Challenge 2024's first round was halted because of poor light condition at The Bluffs Grand Hồ Tràm Golf Course in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province.

Runchanapong Youprayong was the best player. He made a double bogey on hole No 4 but came back with five birdies and one eagle, shooting 5-under 67 to place first

He was followed by Itthipat Buranatanyarat who shot 4-under 68 and Sangchai Kaewcharoen with 3-under 69.

The best local athlete was Trương Chí Quân, who had a score of 2-over 74.

The Lexus Challenge 2024 tournament, a joint event of the Việt Nam Golf Association Tour and the Asian Development Tour, takes place from March 13-15.

As many as 140 domestic and international professional and amateur athletes will vie for a total of US$85,000. 

The tournament will be broadcast live on the official channels of VGA Tour, vHandicap, GolfNewsTV and other platforms and apps such as ClipTV, THVLi, VTV Go, MyTV, Onlala and FPT Play.

Ken Kudo, Associate Director of Partnerships at ADT, said the Lexus Challenge was the opening event for ADT's 2024 season. He believed that ADT was the ideal platform for good Vietnamese professional and amateur golfers to pursue their dream of playing professional golf in an international arena.

The competition was a bridge for professional athletes of the VGA Tour to get closer to the Asian Tour.

"Việt Nam is home to many golf talents, and with more and more co-sponsored events between the VGA Tour and ADT, we can definitely turn these talents into names known in the world," Kudo said. VNS