Gotemba, Japan: Australian Jasper Stubbs will defend his Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) title at October’s 15th edition of the region’s showpiece amateur event.
Created in 2009, the AAC was established by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), The R&A and the Masters Tournament to further develop amateur golf in the Asia-Pacific region.
The champion at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba (October 3-6) will receive an invitation to compete in the 2025 Masters Tournament and The 153rd Open, while the runner(s)-up will gain a place in Final Qualifying for The Open.
To date, players from 38 APGC member organisations have accepted invitations with 113 players confirmed thus far for the 120-player field.
The field is highlighted by defending champion Stubbs and four players representing China inside the top-100 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) – Ding Wenyi (fourth); Chang Xihuan (36th), Bai Xiangyun (61st) and Paul Chang (97th).
“Winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur and being able to compete at two Major championships has made this year very special. I cannot wait to return and defend my title in Japan,” said Stubbs.
Ding finished runner-up to Stubbs in the 2023 AAC at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia, while Chang Xihuan reached the semi-finals of the US Junior Amateur in July.
Other top-100 participants include Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh (68th) and Japan’s Rintaro Nakano (78th).
In addition, eight players in this year’s field have been named to the 2024 Junior Presidents Cup International Team: Anh Minh and Le Khanh Hung from Vietnam; New Zealand’s Joshua Bai; Thais Warut Boonrod and Thanawin Lee, China’s Chang Xihuan; Indonesian Rayhan Abdul Latief and Indian Kartik Singh.
Notable past competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the AAC, and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith.
Over the Championship’s 14-year history, the AAC has served as a springboard to some of the world’s top players, including Matsuyama, Smith, Cameron Davis, Ryan Fox, Kim Si-woo, Satoshi Kodaira, Lee Kyoung-hoon, Min Woo Lee, Keita Nakajima and CT Pan.
Collectively, alumni of the AAC have gone on to win 27 tournaments on the PGA Tour to date and more than 130 across the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
As the host nation, Japan will lead the list of up to 43 APGC member nations represented with 10 players in this year’s field.
A player from Japan has won four of the 14 editions of the Championship (Matsuyama in 2010 and 2011; Takumi Kanaya in 2018; Nakajima in 2021).
Designed in 1977 by Shunsuke Kato, Taiheiyo Club Gotemba underwent a renovation in 2018 overseen by Rees Jones with consultation from Hideki Matsuyama. The hillside course, situated 100 kilometres southwest of Tokyo, features views of Mount Fuji.
The flagship of Taiheiyo Club’s 18 golf courses, Gotemba has hosted a number of international events, including the Taiheiyo Masters, the ISPS Handa Championship and the 2001 World Cup of Golf, won by South Africa’s Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.
A full list of confirmed players for the AAC can be found here.
