Gotemba, Japan: The 2024 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) is set to continue the event’s extensive broadcast coverage around the world.
Organised by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A, the 15th anniversary of the Championship is being held at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba from October 3-6.
The AAC, which aims to further develop golf in the Asia-Pacific region, is the most widely distributed amateur golf event across the world. The Championship’s high-definition broadcast includes three hours of live coverage on each of the four competition days.
TBS will provide event coverage in this year’s host country of Japan. Other broadcasters include ESPN (United States and Latin America), Fox Sports (Australia), iQIYI (China), SBS Sports (Korea), Sky Sports (United Kingdom), SPOTV (Pan-Asia), SuperSport (Africa), TSN (Canada) and Warner Bros. Discovery (Europe).
Coverage will run from 2 pm to 5 pm local time on both Thursday, October 3 and Friday, October 4. Weekend coverage will air from 12 noon to 3 pm local time on Saturday, October 5 and Sunday, October 6.
All coverage will be simulcast live on AACgolf.com, which will also feature unique video and editorial content throughout the Championship. A 30-minute highlight show will also be produced following the conclusion of the final round.
The English-speaking commentary team will include Rich Lerner as host, Frank Nobilo as analyst, Paul Gow and Colt Knost as on-course reporters, and Amanda Balionis handling interviews.
A full field of 120 amateurs from 40 countries will vie for the prestigious title, which provides an invitation to the 2025 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and exemptions into The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush and the 129th Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s, provided the champion retains his amateur status. The runner(s)-up will earn a spot into The Open Qualifying Series with the opportunity to earn a place in The 153rd Open.
Leading this year’s field, which is comprised of the top men’s amateurs in the region, is China’s Ding Wenyi, who is fourth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).
Other top-ranked competitors include China’s Chang Xihuan (35th) and Justin Bai (79th), Enrique Dimayuga of the Philippines (70th), Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh (87th), Australian Quinnton Croker (99th) and Japan’s Rintaro Nakano (108th).
Last year’s champion, Australian Jasper Stubbs, will also return after competing in the Masters Tournament and The 152nd Open at Royal Troon this year.
The AAC was created in 2009 as a joint initiative between the APGC, the Masters Tournament and The R&A.
Notable past competitors include Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the AAC and the 2021 Masters champion, and Cameron Smith, champion of The 150th Open.
Other top players that have used the AAC as a springboard to a notable professional career include Australians Cameron Davis and Min Woo Lee, Chinese Taipei’s CT Pan, Koreans Kim Si-woo and KH Lee Kyoung-hoon, Japan’s Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox.
Collectively, alumni of the Championship have gone on to win 27 tournaments on the PGA Tour to date and more than 130 events across major professional Tours.
The Championship is returning for the second time to Japan, which hosted the second edition of the event in 2010. Taiheiyo Club Gotemba, located at the base of Mount Fuji, will host the Championship for the first time.
For more information, please visit www.AACgolf.com or follow enhanced coverage and exclusive content through the Championship’s official social handles on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube.
