Nicholas Lyman earned a share of the lead in the opening round of the Butterfield Bermuda Junior Championship at Port Royal Golf Course yesterday.

The 17-year-old Arizona resident carded a one-under 70 to set the early pace alongside joint leader Clark Sonnenberg of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“My round was pretty good,” Lyman told The Royal Gazette.

“Off the tee I was a little shaky with the driver, pulled out the three wood a lot and four iron off the tee, but I hit my iron and wedges really well and made a lot of putts.

“No big numbers, which is the key out here, especially when the wind starts to pick up.

“It’s a great course and it’s going to be tough for the rest of the week as there is supposed to be some rain coming with some high winds, so we will see how that goes.”

Despite being in early contention for honours, Lyman is not getting carried away by his opening round.

“I am just trying to keep a level head,” he added.

“You can’t win it on the first, but you can lose it. So I am just trying to stay in the tournament as much as possible.”

The boys’ title remains wide open with eight players tied for third at even par.

Seven shots off the lead and tied for 34th is Oliver Betschart, who tops the local contingent in this year’s 54-hole championship.

The 15-year-old was four over at the turn and his struggles continued coming in as he carded three successive bogeys before tapping in his only birdie of the round on the 17th.

“It was an up-and-down round and thankfully there are 36 holes left to try and turn it around,” he said.

Two shots adrift of Betschart and tied for 39th is compatriot Dylan Muso while rounding off the top three among the locals in 46th at 14 over is Arman Newton.

Sa-Qui Robinson, the island’s remaining representative in the boys division, is a further four shots back in 48th.

Tied for first among the girls field at three under are Samantha Chiou of California and Ontario’s Carlee Meilleur, who is a friend of Betschart.

Like Lyman, 15-year-old Meilleur is also making her debut in the tournament and is pleased to get her title challenge off to a promising start.

“I felt good about my round and my approach shots were good,” she said.

“My friend [Betschart] and I came out here yesterday and started practising a lot around the greens and the course is in good condition.

“I feel good going forward. I just have to stick to my game and stay calm. I can’t get too out of line so we will see what the next two days bring.”

Two shots off the lead in third at one under is South Korean Ein Kim.

Sienna Mosquera is the only local among the girls division and she sits at the bottom of the leaderboard at 24 over.