Alex Osborne emerged as the early pacesetter in the senior boys division after yesterday's opening round of the Aon Fecchio Cup at Port Royal.

Osborne, who captured the 13-to-15 title at the same event a year ago, picked up where he left off yesterday, firing a three-over-par 74 to open a two-stroke lead over Cornell Bean Jr., who faded on the back nine to ruin what had otherwise been a reasonably steady round of golf.

"I knew if I shot in the low 70s I would be close to the leader. I knew Cornell would shoot mid to low 70s and if I could shoot somewhere around there I figured I would be near the lead," Osborne said.

Osborne had two birdies at the par four fifth and tenth holes, which gave him the impetus to reel in rival Bean who carded a five-over 76.

"I have been working on a few things which all seemed to come together today," Osborne added.

Warwick Academy student Bean must have tossed and turned in his sleep last night, after allowing the lead to slip through his fingers as he bogeyed four of the last six holes on the way to the clubhouse.

"Today was good until the last two holes. I hadn't three-putted until 17 and then on 18 I hit a good drive but got a bad kick, which went behind the trees where I had to pitch out," said Bean, son of veteran amateur Cornell Bean Sr. "But overall I'm pretty happy — I just need to hit more greens. If I hit more greens then I'll probably have more chances to make birdies."

Four shots further off the pace is Angus Lang who overcame a rocky start to card a battling seven-over 78.

"I got off to a shaky start, having not hit a golf ball in a while. But I started to warm up on the back nine where I made some putts, which made all the difference," said Lang, back home for the holidays from studies in the UK.

Defending senior boys champion Mark Phillips is not back to defend his title this year, among the field of 24 of the Island's top future prospects.

Already an exciting two-way battle has unfolded in the 13-to-15 age group, with Ryan Benevides and Ryan Roberts firing identical eight-over 79s to grab a share of the lead heading into today's second round of the 54-hole event.