Southport, England: Australian Harrison Crowe will lead a 26-strong Asia-Pacific contingent at this week’s 128th Amateur Championship over the links of Hillside and Southport & Ainsdale.
It will be the start of a memorable month for the reigning Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) winner who has also earned a starting spot in the 151st Open Championship in the third week of July.
Prior to that, though, his focus will be on emulating the achievement of compatriot Bryden Macpherson in 2011.
It was 12 years ago that The Amateur Championship was last staged at Hillside when Macpherson lifted the trophy after beating Scotland’s Michael Stewart in the match play final.
This week, at least 39 different countries will be represented in the 288-strong field for one of the sport’s biggest and most prestigious championships.
In addition to 14 Australians, there are four Japanese, three Indians, two New Zealanders and one player apiece from Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand in the starting line-up.
Crowe, who triumphed in the AAC in Thailand last October, is currently 32nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). The second highest rated Australian in the field is Jeffrey Guan in 63rd spot.
The only Asia-Pacific player in England this week who is ahead of Crowe in the standings is Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat. A winner on the Asian Tour last year when aged 15, ‘TK’ is 30th in the WAGR.
Japan’s top hopes are Riura Matsui (106th in WAGR) and Minato Oshima (217th) while Indonesian Jonathan Hartono (221st) and Indian Shaurya Bhattacharya (469th) are also eager to make their mark.
First contested in 1885, The Amateur Championship is truly historic, with a list of illustrious former winners that includes Sergio Garcia, Jose Maria Olazabal and Bobby Jones.
But there is another incentive as players prepare to take on one of the amateur game’s most demanding challenges. At the end of a week in which stroke play qualifying is followed by match play, the winner will secure exemptions into The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool next month, the US Open, and, by tradition, an invitation to play in the Masters Tournament.
Hillside, in Southport, is well accustomed to hosting championships. One of many fine links courses on ‘England’s Golf Coast’, it frequently stages Final Qualifying for The Open. In 2022, it held the Cazoo Classic, a DP World Tour event.
Southport & Ainsdale also has a proud history, which includes being the venue for the Ryder Cup in 1933 and 1937.
