HONG KONG, 4 Jul 2015, (HK Golfer News Wire) - Under the slogan of “Creating Heroes”, the showpiece championship will feature 120 players from the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation’s 39 member associations.
The stakes are high with the champion receiving a place at the Masters Tournament at Augusta and, along with the runner-up, a berth in The Open qualifying series for The Open Championship.
Chinese schoolboy Guan Tianlang won the event in Thailand in 2012 and then rocked the golfing world by making the cut at the 77th Masters, despite being harshly penalised one shot for slow play. The 14-year-old from Guangzhou was the youngest player in Masters history.
Launched in 2009 to encourage and promote the development of golf in the Asia-Pacific region, Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship has been held in China (2009, 2013), Japan (2010), Singapore (2011), Thailand (2012) and Australia (2014).
Created by three of the most respected organisations in the world of golf – the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A – the championship will be held at Clearwater Bay from October 1-4.
“Hong Kong has an impressive track record of staging world-class international sporting events and we have no doubt this year’s event at Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club will be another example of that,” said Dominic Wall, director of Asia Pacific at The R&A.
“The quality of the course and facilities, combined with its accessibility from the city centre, were important factors in the decision to stage the event at Clearwater Bay.
Han Chang-won of South Korea won the inaugural tournament at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, while Hideki Matsuyama of Japan triumphed in 2010 at Kasumigaseki Country Club on the outskirts of Tokyo and again in 2011 at the Singapore Island Country Club.
Matsuyama has gone on to star on the US PGA Tour, scoring a breakthrough win last year. He has amassed more than US$6.37 million in career prize-money and is in 10th place in this year’s FedExCup standings.
Guan triumphed at the Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi in 2012, while South Korean Lee Chang-woo clinched the 2013 event in China at the Nanshan International Golf Club.
Australian Antonio Murdaca is the defending champion, having won the 2014 event at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
