In the 14 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championships (AAC) played so far, the region’s premier amateur championship has always managed to unearth stars of the future.
It will be no different when the 15th edition of the championship is played from October 3-6 under the shadow of Japan’s most treasured national symbol, Mount Fuji.
The winner on Sunday evening at the famous Taiheiyo Club Gotemba course will achieve instant stardom that comes along with the stunning trophy, as well as life-changing invitations to the 2025 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
Japan is one of the most successful countries in the championship – with Hideki Matsuyama leading the way with his back-to-back wins in 2010 and 2011 – but the finest players from 40 Asia-Pacific countries will look to follow in the footsteps of the player widely regarded as the finest professional to have emerged from the region.
Even if the ultimate glory will belong to just one player, there will be several heroes who will walk around with their heads held high. Here are five players who should be in contention when the drama unfolds.
Country – China; Age – 19; WAGR – No. 4
Form in golf rarely follows mathematical equations, but if it does at the AAC this year, prepare to hand over the crown to the uber-talented Ding.
The Chinese teenager made his first AAC appearance in 2019 in Shanghai as a 15-year-old and was extremely disappointed not to have done any better than a tied 45th-place finish.
Since then, the 6-foot 4-inch-tall Ding’s trajectory has been impressive – tied 13th in 2022 (Thailand) and then tied 2nd at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 2023. Now appearing in his fourth AAC, his rising career graph would suggest he will finish better than last year.
Ding is hoping to turn professional soon and currently leads the Global Amateur Pathway, which was recently announced by the DP World Tour and The R&A, and is in line to secure a card on the DP World Tour if he holds on to that position. A win at the AAC could change his plans.
Ding, who became the first male player from China to win a USGA Championship when he triumphed in the 2022 US Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes, recently won the prestigious Southern Amateur Championship in Alabama, where he finished three shots ahead of another AAC-bound player, Australia’s Quinton Crocker.
Country – Japan; Age – 20; WAGR – No. 91
Host country Japan has a very proud record at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, and as the highest-ranked player from the country, Nakano has the honor and responsibility of extending the legacy of previous champions Matsuyama (2010/2011), Takumi Kanaya (2018) and Keita Nakajima (2021).
The 20-year-old from the highly-touted Waseda University in Shinjuku, Tokyo – it has produced eight prime ministers for the country since being established in 1882 (and three PMs of Korea) – leads a group of 10 golfers from Japan in the championship.
Nakano is highly regarded, especially after his magnificent performances in winning the Japan Amateur Championship last year, and then finishing second in the Japan Collegiate Championship – the two biggest tournaments in the country for amateur golfers.
He also has prior knowledge of the Gotemba course in championship conditions, having played there earlier in the year in DP World Tour’s ISPS Handa Championship.
It’s Nakano’s second AAC start, having finished tied 28th at Royal Melbourne last year.
Country – Australia; Age – 17; WAGR – No. 221
If winning is a habit, who better than our defending champion Stubbs to root for?
Stubsy, as he is known to his friends, won the championship last year in incredible fashion over the Chinese duo of Wenyi Ding and Sampson Zheng. The results since then have not gone his way, but the 23-year-old from Melbourne will arrive at Taiheiyo Club infinitely richer in experience, having played some of the biggest tournaments in the sport, including The Masters and The Open Championship this year.
The Melbourne-born player, who missed the cut at both Augusta and Royal Troon, is ranked 221th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) right now, but as he showed last year, ranking is just a number. Stubbs was ranked 476th when he scripted his triumph at Royal Melbourne.
It will be Stubbs’ second appearance in the championship.
Country – Vietnam; Age – 17; WAGR – No. 69
Nguyen could become the next poster boy for the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. The championship was created with the specific intention of developing golf in the region and unearthing new and exciting talent - and the Vietnamese youngster is fast becoming one of its biggest success stories.
The 17-year-old from Ho Chi Minh City has blossomed as a player and became the first Vietnamese to secure a top-10 finish last year at Royal Melbourne Golf Club (T7) that included back-to-back weekend rounds of 70 when the golf course was playing extremely tough.
Vietnam has been participating in the AAC since the first edition, but the previous best result was Chi Quan Truong’s 46th place in the 2016 championship.
The 2024 US Junior Amateur quarter-finalist has made it known about the important role played by the AAC and the AAC Academy in his development. He was part of both the Thailand and Australia AAC Academies in 2022 and 2023.
Now ranked 70th in the world, Nguyen’s rapid rise has been rewarded this season with a place on the Junior Presidents Cup team. Also joining him in Canada will be fellow Vietnamese AAC participant Khanh Hung Le, who is following in Nguyen’s footsteps and was tied 24th in Melbourne last year.
Country – Indonesia; Age – 17; WAGR – No. 172
What Nguyen is for Vietnam, Rayhan Latief is for Indonesia.
The 17-year-old has made it to a second successive Junior Presidents Cup this year, which is a great indicator of his success and consistency. In a country that is yet to taste golf glory (Rory Hie being the only player with an Asian Tour title in 2019), a lot is expected from Latief.
In the AAC, Indonesian players have never secured a Top 10 finish, with George Gandranata’s tied 17th in 2011 being the country’s best result.
Latief missed the cut in his debut AAC in 2022, but said he learned a lot playing alongside the champion that year, Harrison Crowe, in the first two rounds. At Melbourne last year, he was tied 31st and was one of only four players who scored a sub-par round (70) on a testing Saturday.
The teenager is in good form heading to Japan, having won twice in his last three starts offering WAGR points – the Mandiri Ciputra Preneur Junior World Championship in June by eight shots and the Medco Pondok Indah Golf Championship in July by two shots.
by Joy Chakravarty
