Japanese golfers have historically done very well in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), and National Coach Gareth Jones revealed one of the big reasons for the success is that the Japan Golf Association (JGA) has zeroed in on the Championship as one of their top targets for the year.
In the 14 editions of AAC held so far, Japan has won four titles – superstar Hideki Matsuyama triumphing in 2010 and 2011, followed by Takumi Kanaya in 2018 and Keita Nakajima in 2021.
And Jones says there is a strong hope that a fifth Japanese player will get his name etched on the trophy this year when the Championship is played at home, at the Taiheiyo Club Gotemba course, from October 3-6.
Asked if he was willing to reveal the secret of Japan’s success in the Championship – and also in producing three recent World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) No. 1s in Kanaya, Nakajima and Taiga Semikawa – Jones said: “To start with, Japan has a lot of players. There’s a lot of junior golfers. We’ve got regional programs. There are regional championships and there are plenty of organized competition. You’ve got a high school system, and you’ve got a college system.
“I’ve set a curriculum for our national team and a smaller curriculum for the regional programs. They’ve got lots of resources from the JGA and we’ve, hopefully, tried to improve the players physically. Our physical focus has been high.
“One of our mantras with the national team is 65/35. That is 65% short game practice and 35% long game, which is opposite to what they were doing before I came in. It’s probably because of the driving range culture where they’d focus more on hitting their longer shots.
“Short game gives the scoring edge and it’s something we must focus on because the rest of the world does. Countries like America and Australia have got amazing facilities. Everybody else is chipping and putting. We needed to catch up and we have done a decent job.”
Speaking specifically on the AAC and how it became one of the most important Championships for Japanese players, Jones added: “I hold this one up as our number one tournament.
“I used to say it when I was working for Australia as well. I thought we had too much focus on the U.S. Amateur and the British Amateur. The AAC is over 72 holes, and the best player is pretty much going to win or will have a chance of winning. On the other hand, the best players could go out in the first round of the U.S. Amateur and British Amateur.
“I think it’s a much fairer golf tournament, and obviously, the rewards are massive. Therefore, to me, it sits above all others. I think the opportunities they get for winning this Championship. you can’t pay for that sort of exposure. It’s not just about playing the majors, but also being noticed by people that can help you in the future.”
As in the past, the winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship gets an invitation to the Masters Tournament and The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2025.
Jones said just having more players in the field increases Japan’s chances of winning a fifth AAC title, and that probability gets further enhanced by the fact that his players have a better experience of the intricacies and demands of the Taiheiyo Club Gotemba course.
“I’d probably separate expectation and hope. Expectation brings pressure, while hope is a positive state of mind. I would hope we would have a really good chance of bringing home a winner,” said Jones, who has been Japan’s National Coach since October 2015.
“Obviously, we’ve got 10 players (as host nation), which is a huge advantage. I think anytime you’ve got a home opportunity with that many players, then you certainly increase your chances. And you saw that in Australia the last two times…Antonio Murdaca (2014) and Jasper Stubbs (defending champion) were not exactly the pre-tournament favorites, but they won.
“I think Japanese players will have an advantage at Gotemba. It’s a very tight course with heavy rough, and has very undulating and lightning-fast greens. There are quite a lot of elevation changes as well. I certainly think the tree-lined courses in Japan will suit our players, because that’s what they’ve grown up on. And many of them have prior experience of playing there.”
Five of Japan’s 10 players are from the national team, and the other five have a massive chance of impressing Jones during the AAC week and potentially advance to the elite team.
Asked to comment on his team, Jones said: “I know five of them and I haven’t met five, but I am very excited at the opportunity to see what they are capable of. I have seen some of the playoff scores. (Reo) Maruo is the youngest member of the team (17) and is very promising. He’s been playing very well and made the cut in two professional tournaments on the JGTO recently."
“We have players like Masato Sumiuchi, who was our top player at the Asian Games. But our number one player at the moment is Rintaro Nakano. He is not your typical Japanese player – he is six foot two and a bit of a giant, speaks good English and is not scared of going low. I think he shot a 10-under in the first round of a JGTO tournament (Token Homemate Cup) earlier this year. Takumi (Kanaya) won that and Nakano finished fourth.
“Then we have Taishi Moto, another good young player. He’s just finished high school and is hoping to go to Arizona. He was runner up in the Aussie Men’s Amateur last year. He hasn’t played the AAC before but he’s got some good experience overseas.
“Riura Matsui is just 19 and comes off a shoulder surgery at the end of last year. So, he’s sort of on his way back. He’s played in the Eisenhower Trophy and was just outside the Top 10 in both Thailand and Royal Melbourne. And we have Kaito Sato, who is new to our team this year. He has got a great golf swing, and his swing model is Keith Mitchell on the PGA Tour. That sort of shows you what kind of a golf nerd he is to study someone like Mitchell!”
By Joy Chakravarty
