Asia-Pacific Amateur scheduled for October in Thailand

The 13th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will be held in Thailand in October.

The venue is the Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi where the fourth edition of the tournament was held a decade ago in 2012. The dates are October 27-30.

Created in 2009, the Asia-Pacific Amateur was established to further develop amateur golf in the Asia-Pacific region. The champion will receive an invitation to compete in the 2023 Masters tournament in the United States and the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool in England, while the runner(s)-up will gain a place in final qualifying for The Open.

Taimur Amin, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, Fred Ridley, chairman of the Masters tournament, and Martin Slumbers, chief executive of The R&A, said in a joint statement: “We look forward to bringing the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship back to Amata Spring Country Club and gathering the region’s top players at this exceptional venue once again.

“This year will be a special opportunity to build on the growth we’ve seen in amateur golf over the last 10 years since the event was last held in Thailand. We are grateful to our hosts in the region as we work together to promote the game’s development and provide pathways for talented amateurs across the Asia-Pacific.”

Notable past competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, and Cameron Smith, who won The Players’ Championship in March and is currently the fourth-ranked player in the world. Collectively, Asia-Pacific Amateur alumni have gone on to win 21 tournaments on the PGA Tour to date.

Andrew Yau, chairman of the board of directors of Amata Spring Country Club, said: “We are thrilled to once again host the 2022 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. Amata Spring is excited to present a challenging test for the best amateur golfers across the Asia-Pacific region.”

Amata Spring Country Club was designed by Lee Schmidt and established in 2005. In addition to previously hosting the Asia-Pacific Amateur in 2012, the course has provided the backdrop for prestigious events such as the LPGA Thailand, the Thailand Golf Championship and the Royal Trophy team event.

Guan Tianlang earned a historic victory at the 2012 Asia-Pacific Amateur over future PGA Tour winners C T Pan (runner-up), Matsuyama (fourth) and Smith (seventh) when he became the youngest player to win the tournament at 14 years old. He later became the youngest player to compete, and make the cut, at the Masters in 2013.

Rungsrid Luxsitanonda, president of the Thailand Golf Association, said: “Hosting the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is a unique opportunity to support the game of golf in Thailand as the talent in our country continues to grow.

“We are proud to invite the top amateurs from across the region back to Thailand and Amata Spring and look forward to another exciting edition of the AAC (Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship).”

Over the AAC’s 13-year history, the championship has served as a springboard to some of the world’s top players, including future PGA Tour winners Matsuyama, Pan, Smith, Cameron Davis, Lucas Herbert, Si-Woo Kim, Satoshi Kodaira and Kyoung-Hoon Lee.

The AAC field is comprised annually of the top male amateurs in the Asia-Pacific region representing the 42 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation affiliated organisations, including New Zealand.