Liam Bryden cards 67 to lead at Brechin Castle Open

VIDIA RAMPHAL

Defending champion Ryan Gomez trails former winner Liam Bryden by a shot in the championship division on a rain-hit opening day on January 9 of the 2026 Brechin Castle Open Golf Championships in Couva.

After a half-hour rain delay created a temporary backlog, Bryden took advantage of conditions to card a superb four-under-par 67 – built around a blistering 32 on the back nine.

Gomez led by a shot after the front nine, but fell behind as Bryden’s hot putter gave him the advantage going into the second day.

“I started off playing really well. I had a good stretch of five holes where I went five under par on the front nine,” Gomez told Newsday, “I made a couple of mistakes, one short putt, but overall, my swing was feeling good. The course was in really good condition.”

He said the morning rain softened up the greens and made it more receptive to approach shots and handed more control to the field.

“Liam played really well. His wedge game was phenomenal. He kept putting shots a couple of feet from the hole and kept tapping them in for birdie. He was really strong on the greens today,” said Gomez.

The defending champion said he is happy with his score, but expects conditions to be different on January 10 as the championship division field has an early morning start.

The 2022 winner, Ayden Ali, signed for a one-under-par 71 and sits four shots off the lead.

Marcus Ling (74) holds fourth place, while John Rampersad, Junior Charles, and Alex Kangoo (75) are in a three-way tie for fifth place.

A keen battle has emerged in the First Flight with a three-way tie for the lead after the opening day.

Humming Bird Gold Medal recipient Dr Solaiman Juman holds the joint lead with Shazaad Ali, and Amir Ali—all three golfers shooting 79.

Asa Roopchand and Ahamad Ali are tied for fourth place after producing identical 81s.

Defending champion Hollis George endured a tough start to his title defence, carding an 87 to trail the leaders by eight shots.

He is in 18th place and trails the man he beat to the title in 2025, Nandlal Ramlakhan (84), who is four shots off the lead in 10th place.

In the Third Flight, Damien Sarwan holds a comfortable three-shot advantage over Reid Sonnilal.

Sarwan, who finished second to Aba Bally-Roopchand in 2025, accumulated 38 Stableford points on the opening day of the two-day tournament.

Sonnilal (35) has a four-shot lead over third-placed Rambhajan Sarwan.

In the ladies flight, defending champion Victoria Seenath shot an opening day 79 to take a narrow one-shot lead over Elise LaBorde (80).

Isabella Ramdeen (81) is a further shot back, with former champion Jada Charles (83) lurking in fourth place.

“I think it could have been a few strokes lower,” Seenath said, “It is the first day, and we have two more days remaining for the event. Hopefully, I can play better on the two remaining days.”

Seenath is keen on defending her title, but the 37-year-old is more concerned about playing well.

“I’m more concerned about playing my game and trying to do the best I can do out there. I intend to stick to the game plan and the process, as opposed to just thinking about the results,” she said.

Seenath said her victory in 2025 has given her added confidence in their title defence.

“This tournament is the first major on the golf calendar, so it is always a tournament we look forward to.”

The second flight, which is contested over two days, begins on Saturday morning.

Play commences at 6.30 am on day two.