Nicole Garcia. ATS/Oisin Keniry

Veteran Liz Young led her team in fine fashion on the opening day of the first Aramco Team Series event of the year in Singapore, shooting a three-under 69 to help her team finish on 16-under and take the outright lead.

Young’s quartet was made up of England’s Gabriella Cowley, France’s Anne-Charlotte Mora and amateur 4-handicapper Elaine Widjaja and they finished one shot clear of Team Christine Wolf, Team Caroline Hedwall and Team Nicole Broch Estrup.

In blistering hot conditions, experienced South African Nicole Garcia, who has already clinched a team title in London last year, shot an excellent 67 to lead the way in the individual competition. It could have been even better for Garcia, but she finished with back-to-back bogeys on her eighth and ninth holes respectively.

Five players sit just one shot back on four-under in a tie for second, including Eleanor Givens, Klara Davidson Spilkova, Pauline Roussin and Swedish star Linn Grant.

Young, who secured her maiden LET victory at the 2022 Swiss Ladies Open, a month before her 40th birthday, was delighted with her team’s start. “We really took advantage of the par 5s which made a massive difference today,” she said. “I made a couple of eagles and Gabs made one and our amateur also made one which definitely helped on a couple of the holes.

“Elaine was on fire on the greens today. She is from Indonesia, so I guess she’s used to the grainy greens. She played fantastic and helped the team a lot. We are going to need lots of good shots, I think teams are probably going to get to 30-under so let’s see how we go. There is a lot of good teams right behind us.”

Lydia Ko had an up-and-down day in Singapore. ATS/Oisin Keniry

Teammate Cowley echoed the sentiments of her compatriot adding: “It was so nice to play with Liz and the team today. I’ve played with Liz a few times but it was so fun out there. The whole team atmosphere is always good and it’s always nice to play great golf courses.”

Wolf, who is also tied second in the individual competition to mirror her team’s position, was satisfied with her days work and said: “I played really well today. I just hit them close and made some putts. It was nice.

“We had a really good atmosphere between the team, so it was really nice playing out there. It’s been great to be in Singapore for the first time, really enjoying it and looking forward to the rest of the week.”

World No. 1 Lydia Ko had an up-and-down day, finishing with a level-par 72, while fellow American Danielle Kang fared better with a three-under 69 to sit well placed in a tie for seventh.