Indonesian Alfred Sitohang emerged as the surprise clubhouse leader following an eventful opening day at the US$110,000 ADT Players Championship presented by The R&A, played at Saujana Golf & Country Club in Malaysia.

Sitohang wielded his irons with aplomb at the testing Palm Course, signing in a first round of six-under-par 66 with eight birdies against two bogeys. His thunderous play was reflected by the weather, as a lightning storm forced play to be suspended just after 3pm. Play resumed at 5.30pm, but fading light left 63 players from the afternoon session unable to conclude their rounds.

Indian teenager Kartik Singh carded a five-under-par 67 to lie in sole second place among the players who completed their rounds, one shot ahead of Singapore’s Nicklaus Chiam and three Malaysians – seasoned campaigners Ben Leong and Wilson Choo, and promising amateur Aiden Kei.

The 24-year old Sitohang, who hails from the mountainous city of Bogor, was pleased that he had a good ball-striking day which helped him manage the humid conditions and tame the tight, hilly layout. In his second year as a professional, the bespectacled golfer is chasing his first win on the ADT. His best finish of joint 18th came on home soil last year at The Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar and Nomura.

“I hit the ball very well today and managed to hole some putts. This golf course is very difficult and the walk is tough. You need to hit it well here, as the fairways are narrow and slopy, and so are the greens,” said Sitohang, who was playing the Palm Course for the first time.

“Some of the golf courses in Bogor are similar to Saujana, but it’s a little cooler there. I’ll stick to the same gameplan, except for a few holes. I used the driver a lot today, but for hole 7, I might switch to a fairway wood off the tee tomorrow,” he added.

Singh was similarly enamoured with the allure of the Palm Course, describing the Ronald Fream-designed layout as one of the best he’s played. The 16-year-old has been coming to Malaysia to compete since his junior days, but has not played at Saujana before.

“It’s a great golf course, and I’m really impressed by how well the course is maintained, even after all of the rain we had recently,” said Singh, who turned professional in September last year and is playing in his rookie season on the ADT.
Singh’s colourful scorecard was marked with five birdies, two bogeys and an eagle at the par-five eighth hole, where he holed a 12-foot putt after reaching the green in two.

“The greens are very receptive because of the rain, so you can be a little aggressive and attack the pins. My approach shots were quite good today – I was hitting a lot of wedges and short irons to less than 10 feet,” Singh elaborated.

An Asian Tour winner at the 2008 Worldwide Selangor Masters, Leong rolled back the years with a polished display despite struggling with the heat. The 40-year-old chalked up five birdies against a single bogey.

“It’s definitely getting tougher to walk courses like this nowadays! But I was able to hang in there and hit some great shots. When I hit bad shots, I managed to recover, so overall it was a good day,” said Leong, who has won twice on the ADT with his last title coming at the 2018 PGM Sabah Championship.

Kei, who at age 19 is more than 20 years younger than Leong, rued a cold putter on the back nine but was happy with his score. Five of his six birdies came on the front nine.

“Overall, I played really good today and gave myself lots of birdie chances. On the back nine, my putting went a bit cold, but I still finished solid,” said Kei.

Chasing his second ADT title having won this year’s season-opening PKNS Selangor Masters, also in Malaysia, Chiam was elated to be playing at Saujana again. In 2013, he won the Saujana Amateur Championship at the Palm Course at age 17.

“I was one-over after my fourth hole after hitting it into the water, but managed to bounce back with a birdie on the next hole. It’s great to be back here – the Palm Course is a good layout, and the greens are rolling well and are pretty fast. Malaysia has been very kind to me, so hopefully it stays like that for the rest of the week,” said the 30-year-old.

2025 champion Waris Manthorn of Thailand kept his title defence alive with a solid three-under-par 69, tied with a cluster of players including rising Malaysian star Edven Ying.

The third edition of the ADT Players Championship presented by The R&A is the ADT’s second stop in Malaysia this season. 144 players are competing over 72 holes, including 14 amateurs from seven Asia-Pacific countries as invitational players.

Exemplifying The R&A’s and the ADT’s shared mission to provide pathways for aspiring young golfers, the top two amateurs who make the cut will be exempted into the Final Stage of the Asian Tour’s 2027 Qualifying School.

The ADT Players Championship presented by The R&A is staged in partnership with the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour.