Nomura Cup returns after five-year absence

Nomura Cup returns after five-year absence

The Nomura Cup, the Asia-Pacific region’s most prestigious and longest-running men’s team championship, will make a welcome return to the golfing calendar this year.

After an absence of five years, the latest edition of the historic Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) event that is now into its seventh decade will be staged at Manila Southwoods Golf & Country Club in the Philippines from June 28-July 1.

The 29th Nomura Cup was originally set to be played at The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club in Hong Kong in November 2019 but was rescheduled to June 2020 due to unrest and riots in the special administrative region of China.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic intervened, prompting another delay to June, 2021 which was further extended to 2022 because of continued travel restrictions. With strict quarantine rules still in place in Hong Kong, an alternative venue was sought to ensure the Nomura Cup could go ahead this year.

John Hopkins, chairman of the APGC’s championship committee, said: “After such a long break, we’re excited to bring back the Nomura Cup to the schedule. Throughout our discussions, the priority of the APGC has always been the safety of players, delegates and staff that will be attending our tournaments.

“Thanks to Manila Southwoods and the National Golf Association of the Philippines for enabling us to stage the Nomura Cup in 2022. Our appreciation also goes to the Hong Kong Golf Association and The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club who have been supportive and understanding all along. It is our intention to bring the Nomura Cup to the Clearwater Bay venue in the not too distant future.”

On the last occasion that the Nomura Cup was contested, at Sungai Long Golf & Country Club in Malaysia in 2017, history was created with victory going to the Thai team of Kammalas Namuangruk, Atiruj Winaicharoenchai, Kosuke Hamamoto and Sadom Kaewkanja, winner of this year’s Singapore Open.

It was the first time Thailand had won the Nomura Cup, which has been dominated by Australia, which has won the cup 10 times, seven-time winners Japan, and Chinese Taipei, victorious on five occasions.

Korea, New Zealand, India and Thailand are the only other countries to have won the team title.

The Nomura Cup was launched in 1963 as a tri-nation tournament in the Philippines with the host nation taking on Japan and Chinese Taipei. Recent editions have attracted more than 20 nations. In 2017, there was a record entry of 23 countries and 92 players.

The biennial tournament is held over four days with 18 holes of strokeplay on each day. For 2022, the best two daily rounds from each three-man team will count for the overall score with the winning team receiving the Nomura Cup, which was named after Shun Nomura, the former vice president of the Japan Golf Association who donated the cup. The event also has an individual champion.

This will be the fourth time the Nomura Cup has been held in the Philippines. On all three previous occasions, Wack Wack Golf & Country Club was the venue.

Spread over 140 hectares, Manila Southwoods’ two Jack Nicklaus-designed courses – Masters and Legends – are located in Carmona, Cavite, approximately 30 kilometres south of Makati, metro Manila.

Among many famous golfing names to have played in the Nomura Cup are Australians Cameron Davis, Cameron Smith, Geoff Ogilvy and Craig Parry, Chinese Taipei’s TC Chen, TM Chen and Hsieh Min-nan, Korean Kim Kyung-tae, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and Japan’s Shingo Katayama, Massy Kuramoto, Shigeki Maruyama, Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima.

Winners of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in 2018 and 2021 respectively, Kanaya and Nakajima were part of the Japan team that finished runners-up to Thailand in the 2017 Nomura Cup.

The Nomura Cup is part of the APGC’s portfolio of events that also includes the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, Queen Sirikit Cup, APGC Senior Championship, APGC Junior Championship Mitsubishi Corporation Cup, Bonallack Trophy and Patsy Hankins Trophy, and the Asia-Pacific Open Diamond Cup Golf on the Japan Golf Tour Organisation schedule.