Oliver Betschart made a flying start to his Cedarberry Bowl title defence at Belmont Hills Golf Club.

The 16-year-old amateur shot a two-over 72 to carve out a commanding ten-shot advantage over the rest of the field yesterday in the Blue Championship Division.

Betschart was cruising along at five under through 11 holes but came unstuck when he carded two bogeys and a quintuple bogey at the par-four 18th after hitting two tee shots out of bounds in a strong left-to-right breeze sweeping in off the harbour.

The top amateur’s round also contained five birdies, three of which arrived on a bogey-free front nine.

“For most of the round, I played really well,” Betschart told The Royal Gazette.

“I was five under through 11, hitting my targets, striking the ball well and executing my game plan the way I wanted. I felt in control and confident in my game.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t close the round the way I needed to. I made some mistakes down the stretch and finishing with a nine on the last hole after two out of bound shots was frustrating.

“But that happens to the best of us and it’s golf. What matters is how you respond and I’m focused on bouncing back.

“Despite the tough finish I’m still leading and there are plenty of positives to take away. The key for me moving forward is staying sharp for the entire round and making sure I finish strong.

“This is all part of the learning experience. I’ll take what happened today, learn from it and be better tomorrow. Every round teaches you something and I’m focused on moving forward and improving.

“I’m looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow and keeping things going.”

Sa-Qui Robinson and Arman Newton are tied for second at 12 over with two rounds remaining.

Lewis MacFarlane (79) holds a one-shot advantage in the White Championship Division over nearest rivals Vihaan Seth (80) and Darina Betschart (80).

Betschart, who competes with sibling Oliver on the Southern Texas PGA Junior Tour in the United States, is the only female competing in the White Championship Division.

Joshua Cann tops the Red 9-Hole Division leaderboard with 20 Stableford points, Freddie Jones (12) sits in second and William Leman (10) in third.

Poppy Parry (5 pts) is the only female in the Red 9-Hole Division.

The Blue and White Division, featuring players 15 and over, are playing in a 54-hole strokeplay tournament and Red 9-Hole Division, involving players ages 10 to 12, in the Stableford format also being spread across three days.

The second round of the Cedarberry Bowl will be held at Tucker’s Point Golf Club today before returning to Belmont Hills for the final round tomorrow.

Tomorrow, beginners aged 8 to 11 will compete in the Novice Division, which is also being contested in the Stableford format.