Bermuda junior golfer Kenny Leseur has been grouped with Balint Greef, of Hungary, and Fatima-Ezzahra Asfalou, of Morocco, for the first two rounds of the Junior Open Championship in Scotland.

Leseur is playing in the event for the first time this week, and is one of the youngest competitors in the field of 144 boys and girls from 80 countries.

The Junior Open is being played at the Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club from today until Wednesday, with Leseur due to tee-off at 8am Bermuda time today, and 11.20am tomorrow.

Founded in 1994, the Junior Open is traditionally played on a nearby course shortly before The Open and this year’s event is taking place less than three miles from Royal Troon.

The proximity gave past Open champions Darren Clarke and Zach Johnson the opportunity to attend yesterday’s opening reception, where they presented the golfers with their players badges ahead of today’s first round.

“The Junior Open is a wonderful opportunity for talented young boy and girl golfers from around the world to compete in a prestigious international event,” Duncan Weir, a Royal & Ancient official, said.

“We are seeing an increasingly high standard of play at each championship and many former players have gone on to enjoy successful careers at the professional level. We can look forward to seeing some exciting emerging talents in both the men’s and women’s games.”

One of Scotland’s most renowned links, Kilmarnock (Barassie) first staged the Junior Open in 2004 when Jordan Cox of the United States secured the title with a one-under-par total of 215.

It hosted the Boys Amateur Championship in 2010, when Adrian Otaegui defeated Max Rottluff 4 and 3 in the final, and the 2012 Scottish Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship, when France’s Paul Barjon was victorious. The course has often been used as a final qualifying venue for The Open.

The R&A’s 152 affiliates are invited to enter their leading boy and girl golfers aged 16 and under into the Junior Open. Competitors play two rounds of stroke play, after which the leading 80 players and ties progress to the third and final round.

Previous Junior Open champions include 2006 winner Patrick Reed, who triumphed at the 2014 WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral, 2013 LPGA Rookie of the Year Moriya Jutanugarn, who became the first female champion in 2008, and Kenta Konishi, who featured in the last four of the US Amateur Championship in 2015.

Some of the world’s best golfers have featured in the Junior Open over the years, including Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia and Paula Creamer.

This week’s tournament is the start of a busy month for Leseur, who will represent the island at the Optimist International event in Florida.

Leseur will compete in the 12 to 13 age division between July 20 and 25 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens.

Fellow junior golfers Mikus Ming and Dakota Lamb will also compete in the event in the 16 to 18 division, which runs at the same venue from July 30 to August 4.