Strong winds gusting up to 45 kilometres per hour added an extra layer of difficulty to the first round of the Lexus Challenge in Vietnam today, with only six players finishing the day under par at The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram.

Shotaro Ban of the USA holds a one shot lead after posting a three under par score of 68, his mixed bag of five birdies and three bogeys enough to hold off Thailand’s Amarin Kraivixien, Sweden’s Filip Lundell, Alejandro Canizares of Spain and England’s Sam Broadhurst.

Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin (70) holds solo sixth place in the US$90,000 Asian Development Tour event. The event was similarly wind-affected last year, when Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig overcame the weather to beat a strong field.

With players having to adjust shot selection by one and sometimes two extra clubs, the wind posed problems not only in the air, but also on the ground as competitors struggled to make putts.

“My three bogeys were all three putts,” said Ban after his round. “I had a lot of fun because that’s probably one of my most hated things, but I hit a lot of good shots and drove it fairly well,” he added.

“I kind of had a couple of putts drop my way but these greens are so pure that if you hit your lines and the wind stays relatively consistent it does what you think it will do, so yeah it was a great day,” he said.

“I just tried to stay as patient as possible, because with the wind being as strong as it is, there are just so many things that you cannot control. It almost kind of frees you up a little bit so yeah, I had a good time out there,” he laughed.

Asked about the need to club up on many of the holes, he offered a perspective from the par three fourth hole. “I’ll say on four today, I think it was 169 to the flag. I played it about 205 and flighted a little five iron and it barely got there, so it was probably a comfortable 35 yards more, at least.”

Amarin, who posted the only bogey-free round of the day, was the early clubhouse leader after taking advantage of an early tee time, and rated his round as one of his very best.

“That was probably one of my very best ball-striking rounds,” he said after posting his score,” and probably one of the best rounds I’ve hit in my life. I’m very pleased with my round today and pleased with the score in these conditions.

“I think it really helped that i played early in the morning. I think the second and fourth were my top holes and by getting off early from hole one, I got to play those holes with not much wind so that really helped.

“I made one birdie there and that really gave me the momentum for the rest of the round,” he added.

“I hit it really good but it was really difficult putting, trying to stand still and read the break against the wind. It was a unique challenge but I embraced it. My goal today was to try to two putt every hole and i did just that so I’m very happy.

“The most I clubbed up was probably on hole 11. It’s a 150 yard par three and I hit five iron pin high to about ten feet but I misread that putt,” he laughed.

Sharing seventh place, on even par, are Denmark’s Kasper Nyland, Naoki Sekito of Japan, Indonesia’s Kevin Akbar, Nguyen Nhat Long of Vietnam, Singapore’s James Leow and the Filipino duo of Aidric Chan and Sean Ramos.

Play was suspended due to darkness with 21 players still on the course needing to complete their rounds. They will resume Round One at 6.40am with Round Two starting at the original time of 6.35am off two tees.

Main picture: Shotaro Ban of the USA pictured in action on March 19, 2025, at the Lexus Challenge at The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram.