APGC
ASIA-PACIFIC GOLF CONFEDERATION JOURNAL
DECEMBER 2016
Curtis has all the Luck CONTENTS Curtis has all the Luck 1-2 Sentosa to host 2018 AAC 3 Saudi Arabia wins Arab championship 4 Al Rumhy the AAC’s busiest player 4 Tseng triumphs in Hong Kong 4 Chan claims Diamond Cup 5 Chairman’s message 5 Korean women unbeatable 6 Aussies claim title 7 Matsuyama soars 8 Hong Kong, China to host WATC in 2020 8 Aussies return to senior dominance 9 Ryder Cup star coaches youngsters 10
Australian Curtis Luck continued his stunning amateur season when he swooped on the Asian Amateur Championship, snatching the title by a shot with a superb final round 67.
Luck, who had already in 2016 won the US Amateur Championship and been a member of Australia’s winning World Amateur Teams’ Championship, fired a 12-under par total of 276 as Australians dominated the leader board. Compatriot Brett Colletta undid three days of excellent
sub-70 rounds at Korea’s Jack Nicklaus Golf Club with a 75 on the last day to leave himself open to a charge. Australian Cameron Davis was fourth at seven under the card with New Zealander Luke Toomey sandwiched in between in outright third spot. Luck, the world’s secondranked amateur, overcame a seven-stroke deficit to take out the eighth AAC crown and earn his second invitation to The Masters. He had already earned berths
to play at Augusta, the US Open and The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale next year after winning the US Amateur in August. As runner-up Coletta earned a place in The Open Qualifying Series. Following Antonio Murdaca’s victory in Melbourne two years ago, Australian players have now won the Championship twice to equal South Korea (2009, 2013), Japan (2010, 2011) and China (2012, 2015). n Continued page 2
Lost steam: Runner-up Brett Coletta undid three days of excellent sub-70 rounds at Korea’s Jack Nicklaus Golf Club to leave himself open to a charge.
Curtis has all the Luck … again n From page 1
Toomey shot the best round of the final day, a 66, while Davis, last year’s joint runner-up, shot a disappointing 77. Junya Kameshiro (75), Japan’s top-ranked amateur, finished fifth at five under while Chinese Taipei’s Yu Chun-an (69), Thailand’s KK Limbhasut (73), Korea’s Lee Won-jun (73) and China’s Yuan Yechun (70) finished sixth to ninth, respectively. The defending champion, Jin Cheng from China, finished in a tie for 15th at six over par. Luck, 20, was seven behind Coletta at the start of the final day and had to shoot his lowest score of the week to clinch the Championship in his second appearance, having made his debut in 2014. “I’ve had an amazing year and this has topped it off,” said Luck who was part of the Australia team that won the World 2 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ DECEMBER 2016
Amateur Team Championships in Mexico two weeks ago. “I came here to try my best and win, but I wasn’t expecting to be standing here with the trophy at the end of the week. I’ve had a pretty good year and a couple of big wins in the past couple of months.” Playing in the penultimate group, Luck birdied two, 11, 12 and 15 and was playing the par-five 18th when he realised Coletta had drawn level with him following a chip-in birdie on 17. Luck had hit his second shot into a bunker, but splashed out to 15 feet and drained a curling putt, following it up with an emotional fist pump. “It was a pretty nerve-racking finish as I knew Brett could make birdie on 18, so fortunately for me he didn’t,” said Luck. “That bunker shot was probably one of the most nervous shots I’ve ever had to play, and the putt just topped it off. I left myself a bit of a
swinging putt, but I had a really good feel for it.” Luck conceded that he felt for Coletta, who led after rounds two and three. “Brett’s a really close friend of mine and I understand the opportunity he has just missed out on. “I do feel a little guilty and sad, but I’m so competitive I couldn’t give up the chance to win an event like this.” Coletta, 20, started the day at 14-under, but a birdie at three was followed by back-to-back bogeys then double bogeys at nine and 11. He bounced back with birdies at 14 and 17 but was unable to convert a birdie putt on the last and force a playoff. “It’s really hard to swallow, but you’ve got to look at the positives. I’ve had three good rounds at a tournament I’ve never played before,” said Coletta, last year’s US Amateur stroke play medallist. “A chip-in on 17 helped and
I knew I had to make a birdie at 18, but I had a poor second shot. My chip wasn’t too much better, but that’s golf for you,” he said. “I’m going to look back at the first three rounds and leading this prestigious event. “I’ll go back and catch up with family who will be so proud of me. They were just hoping to see me once on TV, never mind seeing me lead after the second and third rounds.” The ninth Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will be held at Royal Wellington Golf Club in New Zealand from October 2629, 2017. The eighth AAC featured 118 players from 38 APGC member associations. Television coverage included three hours of live broadcast on each of the four days and a 30-minute highlights show, and was aired in more than 160 countries, once again making it the world’s most televised amateur golf tournament.
Sentosa to host 2018 AAC Scenic: Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore is surrounded by scenic views of the Singapore Harbour and Singapore Straits.
Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore has been selected as the host venue for the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) in 2018, organisers announced during the eighth edition of the flagship amateur event in South Korea.
The 2016 AAC was staged at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club and was conducted in partnership with the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A. The champion will receive an invitation to compete in the 2017 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and, along with the runner(s)-up, a spot in The Open Qualifying
Series for The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale. The 2018 AAC, which will mark the 10th staging of the Championship, will take place on October 4-7. The event has been hosted in nations and territories across the Asia-Pacific region, including China (2009, 2013), Japan (2010), Thailand (2012), Australia (2014), Hong Kong (2015) and South Korea (2016). With New Zealand as the event’s next destination in 2017, organisers look forward to bringing the Championship back to Singapore in 2018 for the first time since the 2011 AAC at The Singapore Island Country Club.
First opened in 1974, Sentosa Golf Club became the host of the Singapore Open in 2005, which is now the SMBC Singapore Open, as well as the HSBC Women’s Champions since 2012. The club is home to two golf courses and is located on the resort island of Sentosa, surrounded by scenic views of the Singapore Harbour and Singapore Straits. The 2018 AAC will be conducted on The New Tanjong Course. Originally designed by Frank Pennick in 1972 with the help of Singaporeans Dennis Lee and Alan Choe, The New Tanjong was redesigned in 2016 by Andrew
Johnston and Matt Swanson and is in its final stages of redevelopment. Low Teo Ping, President of Sentosa Golf Club, said: “We are proud to join the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, the Masters Tournament and The R&A in this tremendous endeavour as host of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in 2018. The opportunities afforded to the amateurs who compete in this event are truly life-changing. It will be an honour to welcome young players from across the region to Sentosa Golf Club, where we believe their talents will be appropriately displayed and challenged.”
Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation
Chairman Dr David Cherry
Vice Chairman Treasurer Mr Keisuki Mr Philip Muratsu Hassall
General Secretary Mr Kyungjae Lee
Mr Taimur Amin Mr Zhang Xiaoning
Mr Mohammed Rae Vadee Faisal Al-Naimi T.Suwan
Nobuko Hirayama
Dato’ Rabeahtul Ning Li Aloya Abbas
The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation encourages all member nations to contribute news from their countries for inclusion in the APGC journal. News items can be emailed to editor Robert Grant at rob.grant1948@gmail.com DECEMBER 2016 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ 3
AL RUMHY THE AAC’S BUSIEST PLAYER Oman’s lone representative at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Incheon, Azzan Al Rumhy has more than golf to keep him occupied as the father-of-two keeps an eye on his day jobs – running an Indian restaurant and a pool construction business.
Now 32, the Muscat-based businessman looks a decade younger and is his country’s sole player at the AAC for a second year after making his debut alongside compatriot Hamood Al Harthy two years ago in Melbourne where a second-round 74 remains his championship highlight. Despite missing the cut for a third year Al Rumhy was delighted to have played in Incheon where he also represented Oman at the 2014 Asian Games. He admits, however, that golf is not the priority it once was. “I’ve now got two businesses. One is an urban Indian restaurant in Muscat and I’ve had that for a year. It’s Indian cuisine but very casual and contemporary, not a typical Indian restaurant. The year before it opened I went to India to recruit the cook and the whole kitchen team and service team.
Full schedule: Azzan Al Rumhy is Oman’s sole player at the AAC.
The plan is to have a few more branches in 2017,” Al Rumhy said. “The other business is a swimming pool construction company. We build swimming pools and water fountains. I didn’t found that. I became a 50-50 partner with a foreigner in Oman who founded the company. I don’t have any other businesses – that’s more than enough.” Al Rumhy’s diversity of businesses is matched by the diversity of his sporting pedigree.
As a youngster he represented Oman in tennis before focusing on golf. “I represented Oman in the junior tennis team for four years and then switched to golf in 1998. It was my dad who encouraged me to take up the game,” said Al Rumhy, who was married in 2008 and has a sixyear-old daughter and a threeyear-old son. “I did get to scratch but right now my handicap is 3.1 as I’m kind of busy with business and the family. Last year I got my
wife to come with me to the AAC in Hong Kong which was nice. I’m Oman’s only player here but I recognise quite a few players from the last two events and many also played in the last Asian Games.” Al Rumhy is proud of the growing golf industry in Oman and the country’s increasing importance as a host of professional events. Following the lead of The European Tour’s Road to Dubai, The European Challenge Tour launched the Road to Oman in 2015 and early next month the circuit will culminate with the season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final in Muscat for a second year. “Right now we have four golf courses but we didn’t have any until 2009. People used to play on sand and hit off mats so that’s how I started playing,” Al Rumhy said. “Because I’m in the national team I get to play at all of the courses but my home club is Ghala Golf Club which this month is hosting the Ghala Open on the MENA (Middle East & North Africa) Golf Tour. I’m looking forward to that. And yes, I hope to be at the next AAC in New Zealand if I qualify.”
TSENG TRIUMPHS Saudi Arabia wins Arab Championship Saudi Arabia has clinched the 36th Arab Golf Championship, taking out the gold medal at the Ghala Golf Club in Muscat, Oman.
The Kingdom was represented by Rashid Hamood, Khalid Yousuf, Saif Thabet and Sohail Al Marzouqi. It was the first time that the Sultanate of Oman had hosted the event which is staged 4 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ DECEMBER 2016
annually and rotated among the members of the Arab Golf Federation. The Saudi team finished with a total team score of 887, a comfortable 16 shots over second-placed Morocco. Qatar was third with a total of 916. The championship hosted 11 countries with more than 60 players competing.
Tseng Tsai-Ching of Chinese Taipei won the 2016 Hong Kong Ladies Open Amateur Championship after a tense final day at The Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club. With only four shots separating the top eight players, the 16-year-old won by a single stroke and earned a professional start in the 2017 Hong Kong Ladies Open at Fanling. Joint leader going into the third and final round, Tseng
carded a four-over 75 in windy conditions to finish on 224, one ahead of compatriot Chen Hsuan and Bernice Olivarez-Ilas of the Philippines who fired the tournament-low round of 71. Tseng will now return to Hong Kong to take on the professionals. As winner of the national Ladies Open Amateur Championship, the teen receives an exemption from the Hong Kong Golf Club into next year’s Hong Kong Ladies Open.
Chairman’s message
APGC Chairman Dr David Cherry This is my final Chairman’s Message for this year and it is as good a time as any to reflect on what a momentous year it has been. There have been many highlights but for me the unification with women has been by far the most significant development in the APGC for many years. I hope the women feel the same as the men do and that as a consequence, both genders have benefitted as well as our brand which will hopefully appeal to more sponsors. From a team’s perspective, the winning Eisenhower team from Australia won by a huge margin of 19 strokes, while the South Koreans won the Espirito Santo Trophy by 21 strokes – a ridiculous margin in a threeperson team. I do not remember when the men and women from the APGC won in the same year but to do so in such a convincing manner will be remembered for a long time. It does reflect well on the standard of elite amateur golf in our region and all of the players in those two teams have played in APGC events. The winners of the 2016 US Amateur (men and women) and the US Junior have all come from APGC countries. Nasa Hataoka from Japan, who played in the first Mitsubishi APGC Junior event at Sunrise Golf and Country Club, won this year’s Women’s Japan Open at 17 as an amateur.
I was present with Kei Muratsu, our Vice Chairman, to witness her play. She is inspirational and a great example of how dedication to the game can pay off – she is now a professional and I wish her well. The AAC held at the Jack Nicklaus course near Incheon in South Korea was a great success. The golf course was a great test in wonderful condition and the weather was kind. The Australians continued their good form from the Eisenhower Trophy to dominate the event with Curtis Luck winning narrowly from Brett Coletta and Cameron Davis – both teammates. Curtis adds that trophy to the US Amateur and Eisenhower Trophy as well as a couple of significant professional events in Australia – an unbelievable achievement. He will, of course, carry the APGC banner at the 2017 Masters Tournament for which we wish him well. The Mitsubishi Diamond Cup, a Japan Tour Event, held at the Iberaki Club near Osaka, has 10 places for leading APGC amateurs. This year’s leading amateur was an 18-year-old Japanese player Yuwa Kosaihira who also did well at the AAC – he looks to have a great future. Golf players are getting younger and I hear of a potential star player from Jordan aged 12 whom we are trying to pair up with a rising player from Nepal to play together in our Mitsubishi
APGC junior event. Where else would you have a player from Jordan playing with someone from the opposite sex from Nepal. I bet they could not find each other’s country on a map. This follows closely our mantra of bringing players from different backgrounds, languages, creeds and economic circumstances together equally through golf. Of course the Japanese player who we all follow from his winning of two AACs is Hideki Matsuyama, winner of the recent Japan Open by a big margin and now No.6 in the world – a major can be only a matter of time. Much of what the APGC achieves is through the kind sponsorship of Rolex, the Mitsubishi Corporation and the R&A – we are extremely grateful to these organisations for their continued support. I must close by once again thanking my Board for their huge contribution to the APGC this year. Our Secretary, KJ Lee, works tirelessly (to the detriment of his own golf), your Vice Chairman Kei Muratsu has travelled all over the Asia Pacific region to represent APGC as Chairman of our Championship Committee and Philip Hassall, our Treasurer, has managed our books in his usual expert fashion. RaeVadee Suwon, Raybe Abbas and Nicki Hirayama have provided significant input and are a great strength of our Confederation.
Chan streaks home to claim Diamond Cup Chinese Taipei’s Chan Shihchang sparked a superb final day charge with a flawless eight-under-par 62 to claim his second Asian Tour victory in two months at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup. Chan, who started the day with a six-shot deficit, broke his personal best 18-hole score to win by two shots on 10-underpar 270 total at the highlyacclaimed Ibaraki Country Club’s West course. Japan’s Ippei Koike returned with a 69 to take second place
while countryman Kazuhiro Yamashita settled a further shot back in third following a 68 at the ¥150 million (about US$1.3 million) event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour. Overnight leader Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand battled to a 72 to share fourth place on 274 with local duo Shugo Imahira and Katsumasa Miyamoto, who carded matching 66s, at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup. The leading amateur was rising Japanese star Yuwa
Kosaihira. The 18-year-old also made an impression in the AAC, finishing in a share of 15th place. Chan, who claimed a sensational breakthrough win in Thailand two months ago, blasted eight birdies, including three in a row from 12, against no bogey to seal the deal in the Japanese showpiece. “I felt very comfortable out there. Everything was good. I haven’t been hitting my driver well the last few days but I hit it good today. I was just trying to put the ball on the fairways. My
iron play and short game have been solid,” said the 30-year-old Chan. “I didn’t expect to play so well. This is a very challenging course for me because it is a very long. I got lucky on 13 where I chipped in for birdie from about 30 yards in the bunker. That felt really good and I gained a lot of confidence from there,” added Chan, who amassed 25 putts. Chan also credited his recent successes to his change in mindset, a mentality which he thinks comes with age and experience. DECEMBER 2016 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ 5
Korean women unbeatable
Top of the world: APGC Chairman Dr David Cherry with winning Korean team Choi Hye-Jin, Park Hyun-Kyung and Park Min-Ji and victorious Australian men’s team Cameron Davis, Curtis Luck and Harrison Endycott.
The Republic of Korea won its fourth Espirito Santo Trophy by a record-equalling margin with a 72-hole total of 29-under-par 547 at the 27th Women’s World Amateur Team Championships at Mayakoka El Camaleon Golf Club. “The key is the team play,” Korean captain Sang-Won Ko said. “We have been interviewed over the last few days and the players have been so focused on team play. That makes everyone tight and makes for good results.” The other medals were won by Switzerland, in second, at 8-under 568 and Ireland, in third, at 7-under 569. In 14 WWATCs, the Koreans have taken seven medals in total: four gold (1996, 2010, 2012 and 2016), two silvers and one bronze. Teenagers Hye Jin Choi, 17, and Min Ji Park, 16, each shot 5-under-par 67 to post a finalround 134, which is secondbest to Australia’s 131 in 2014. Denmark’s Puk Lyng Thomsen 6 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ DECEMBER 2016
(66) had the low round of the day at Mayakoba. “I travel a lot and the first question is always, ‘Why is your women’s game so strong?’. And my first answer is we have a greater number of players and they are trying really hard,” Ko said. “Their target is to turn professional. We may be a small country in terms of the land and the population but we have more than 3,000 junior players and they are willing to turn professional, which is really a huge number compared to the US and Europe so that’s why I believe our women’s golf is strong.” Korea’s 21-stroke margin over second-place Switzerland tied the championship record set by the US in Chile in 1998. The 72-hole total (547) is also tied for second-lowest score by a champion. The lowest winning score was 546 by the Republic of Korea in 2010, when they won by 17 strokes. The nation has finished
in the top 10 in 12 of its 14 appearances. The Koreans are tied for fourth in most overall WWATC medals with Sweden and Great Britain and Ireland. Only the US, with 13, has won more gold medals than the Koreans. After three rounds, the Koreans held a 14-stroke cushion over Switzerland but, in the fourth round, they kept their lowscoring pace as Choi, the 2016 US Women’s Open low amateur, and Park, the 2016 Australian Women’s Amateur champion, shot 6-under 30 and 4-under 32, respectively, at the par 72, 6295-yard/5752-metre Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club. “We did really well last time (third in 2014), but we couldn’t do as well as we hoped,” said Choi. “But this time we really did our best and we performed really well, so I am very happy now.” Although there is no official recognition, Choi led the individual scoring with a 14-under-par total of 274. Sisters Kim and Morgane
Metraux shot 69 and 72, respectively, for the Swiss, who won their first medal in 23 appearances, with a best finish of tied for fourth in 1988. This marks their fifth top 10 finish. “It feels great,” said Kim, who plays at Florida State University with her sibling and teammate. “We never thought we would win a medal before coming here. We came with no expectations, just to play as well as we could. It’s incredible that we have won a medal.” “It’s a great historic moment for Switzerland,” said Swiss captain Annette Weber. “The players performed great in very hot conditions and I am very proud of this team for winning the silver medal.” In a duel that lasted most of the afternoon, Ireland, on the stellar play of Olivia Mehaffey (4-under 68) and World Amateur Golf Ranking No.1 Leona Maguire (3-under 67), claimed third at 569, edging past Denmark in fourth at 570 and Thailand in fifth at 571.
AUSSIES CLAIM TITLE Australia cruised to a record 19-shot victory to win its fourth World Amateur Team Championship. Cameron Davis and Curtis Luck each shot 3-under 68s at the Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club. Australia claimed its first Eisenhower Trophy since 1996. “It’s great for the game of golf back home,” said Australian captain Matt Cutler. “It started two years ago when the women won the Espirito Santo (Trophy). We got a taste of competing and winning internationally. They executed the plan perfectly this week. They had a determination to get it done.” The Australians, who also won World Amateur Team titles in 1958 and 1966, posted a record score of 38-under-par 534, tying the total established by the US in 2014. Their victory margin was the third-largest in championship history. England won the silver medal at 553, behind a final-round 6-under 136. Austria and Ireland shared the bronze medal and were one stroke back at 554. Australia’s Davis, the lone player in the field to shoot all four rounds in the 60s despite the hot and humid conditions, turned in the lowest individual score at 17-under 269. He birdied three consecutive holes on the inward nine and had six during the final round. “This is by far the best I have played in such a big tournament,” said Davis, who finished second in both the AsiaPacific Amateur and Australian Amateur last year. “It was just an honor to be in this tournament in the first place and representing my country, but to come away with a win is pretty special.” Luck, the 2016 US Amateur champion, followed Friday’s sparkling 9-under 63 at the par-72, 6888-yard/6386-metre Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club with six birdies and three bogeys during his fourth round. He finished at 15-under overall after
Winners are grinners: Harrison Endycott, Cameron Davis, Curtis Luck and captain Matt Cutler hoist the trophy. Picture by USGA/Steven Gibbons
posting two non-counting scores in the opening two rounds, as only two of the three-man team scores are used towards the total each day. “We came out with a pretty good strategy around both courses,” said Luck, who also captured this year’s Western Australian Open and is No.3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. “We did a really good job in the practice rounds of setting out where the pins would be and fortunately we pretty much got them all right. We did things extremely professionally.” England registered its best finish in a WATC after tying for sixth in 2006 and 2014. Alfie Plant, who won the 2016 Lytham Trophy and was last year’s English Amateur runner-up, fired a 5-under 66 and holed a 9-foot birdie putt at the par-4 18th to vault his team into second place. Jamie Bower added a 1-under 70. “Once I knew I had to make the putt for birdie, I just went through my routine to make sure you make the best putt you can, and it just went in,” said Plant, who made seven birdies on the day. “It’s been a great week, we’ve recorded our highest finish in the event as a team, and I’m playing good golf as well. It’s great to get up on the stage for a medal.” Added English captain Kevin Tucker, “We’re absolutely delighted, the good thing is that
all three players have contributed twice. Alfie’s done a great job with the two low scores, and Jamie and Scott (Gregory) have both produced twice. It’s the first time England has medalled, we’re over the moon”. Austria also earned a medal for the first time as their best performance was tie for fifth in 2002. Matthias Schwab, who is No.5 in the WAGR, birdied the last three holes for a 4-under 67, while teammate Markus Maukner chipped in with a 70. Schwab set up his birdie at No.16 with a 7 iron, struck a 54-degree sand wedge to within 15 feet at the next hole and sank a 10-foot putt at No.18. “My two teammates had the same goals, just try to shoot the best they can,” said Schwab, who tied for third at this year’s NCAA Championship as a member of the Vanderbilt University team. “Everyone brought their A game or close to their A game, and that’s reason enough for us to be in the top four. The goal is to make a medal or at least fight for one.” Ireland slipped from second into a tie for third due to the squad’s difficulties on the final hole, but still captured their first WATC medal. Jack Hume, a member of the winning 2015 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team, was bitten by a double bogey after earlier making six consecutive birdies
on the outward nine. Hume settled for a 3-under 69. Stuart Grehan, who had a 1-over 72, and Paul McBride, who had a non-counting 73, made bogeys on the closing hole. Victor Hovland fired a 6-under 65, the lowest round of the championship at Mayakoba El Camaleon, and playing captain Kristoffer Ventura added a 71 as Norway was fifth at 17-under 555. The team’s previous best finish was a tie for sixth in 2012. “I’m pretty satisfied,” said Hovland, who carded a bogeyfree round. “I knew we had to try and shoot some low scores out there to try and win a medal. It was a good time to contribute a score to the team. It means a lot for us to do well.” New Zealand and the US tied for sixth at 557. Ryan Chisnall, of New Zealand, shot a 68 after scoring in the mid-70s in the first three rounds, while teammate Luke Toomey had a 70. Chisnall, who was the comedalist at the 2015 Amateur Championship at Carnoustie, holed birdie putts of 25- and 20-feet at numbers 16 and 17 respectively. The US struggled to an evenpar 142 and failed to medal in this championship for the first time since 1998 when the team was seventh. Brad Dalke, last month’s US Amateur runner-up, had a 70, while Stanford University All-American Maverick McNealy shot a 72. Scottie Scheffler, a junior at the University of Texas, posted a noncounting 73. “It was a difficult day for all of them,” US captain Paul Caruso said. “I guess it is unusual that that happens and all three of them did not have their best.” The WATC is a biennial international amateur competition conducted by the International Golf Federation, which comprises 147 national governing bodies in 141 countries and 22 professional members. DECEMBER 2016 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ 7
MATSUYAMA SOARS Former dual Asian Amateur Champion Hideki Matsuyama went on a winning spree in October, snaring the Japan Open before becoming the first Japanese player to win a World Golf Championship at the HSBC Champions event in China. His triumphant march saw him rocket to world No.6. The 24-year-old, who captured back-to-back AAC trophies in 2010-11 clung to his overnight lead in his hometown event at Sayama Golf Club to seal the title with a 1-under par final round 69. Matsuyama’s dazzling potential as an amateur was rapidly realised as he soared to two US PGA Tour wins and seven on the Japan Golf Tour. He has also finished inside the top 10 in all four major championships. At Sayama he collected five birdies and four bogeys to fire a 5-under par total of 275. He finished three shots ahead of runners-up Yuta Ikeda and South Korean Lee Kyoung-hoon. Matsuyama was five shots off the pace in a tie for 15th place after the first round and moved up to eighth at the midway point before leap-frogging the leaders with a third-round 65. “I think my experiences on the US tour helped me. I’m glad
Fine form: Hideki Matsuyama, in hat, is congratulated by officials.
I played well,” said Matsuyama, who was playing in the Japan Open for the first time in four years. “They say this is a major domestic event, but this is not what I’m after. I see this as a passing point. “My goal is to win at the four major championships,” he said. With his first major title on the Japan Golf Tour Matsuyama claimed ¥40 million in prize money and won a five-year seed on the JGTO tour. He becomes only the fourth
Japanese golfer in history to make the top 10. According to the Japan Golf Tour Organisation, Tsuneyuki Nakajima is the highestpositioned Japanese male having ranked fourth in the point-based system in 1987, followed by fifth-ranked Masashi Ozaki in the 1996-1997 seasons and eighthranked Isao Aoki in 1987. In China shortly afterwards, Matsuyama amassed an incredible 19 birdies over the opening 36 holes to take a three shot lead into the weekend, then
finished the job off with scores of 68-66 to put the finishing touches on a dominant seven shot victory. His 23-under-par total was just one shot shy of the tournament record set by Dustin Johnson in 2013. “Winning today, I feel has got me closer to being able to compete a lot better in the major tournaments,” Matsuyama said. “My next goal is, of course, to win a major and I’m going to do all that I can to prepare well for that.”
Hong Kong set to host WATC in 2020 Hong Kong, China, has been selected as the site of the 2020 World Amateur Team Championships, the International Golf Federation (IGF) announced at its biennial meeting.
“We are excited to have the World Amateur Team Championships in 2020 in Hong Kong and with it just coming after the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, it will be a great period for golf in Asia,” said IGF Executive Director Antony Scanlon. “Hong Kong is a long and loyal proponent of golf. 8 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ DECEMBER 2016
“The courses will prove to be a tremendous challenge to the best amateur players in the world. “We are extremely honored to serve as the host of the 2020 World Amateur Team Championships,” said Hong Kong Golf Association Vice President Yoshihiro Nishi. “To be selected by the IGF to host the Espirito Santo Trophy and Eisenhower Trophy competitions is an indication of the spirit of friendship that exists in amateur golf. We are pleased to welcome this prestigious global golf competition to Hong Kong.”
The Old and New Courses of The Hong Kong Golf Club will be used for the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship while the Composite Course of The Hong Kong Golf Club and The Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club will be used for the World Amateur Team Championship. These championships will be hosted by the Hong Kong Golf Association. The 29th women’s championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy and the 32nd men’s championship for the Eisenhower Trophy will be played in October, 2020.
Aussies return to senior dominance Spearheaded by Greg Rhodes, Australia avenged its defeat in last year’s Asia-Pacific Senior Amateur Championship with an emphatic 19shot victory over New Zealand at the Alabang Golf Club in the Philippines. With Rhodes shooting rounds of 73-75-74, Australia returned to the winner’s circle in the event for players 55 and over - a tournament it has dominated over the past eight years with five wins, including a hat-trick from 2010-12. While Rhodes fired a 2-over par round on the final day, he was helped by compatriots Ian Frost and Gordon Claney, who both shot 75, and Stefan Albinski who signed for a 77. New Zealand finished second with an aggregate of 917 while Japan was third just one shot further back. South Korea was fourth at 923 and Hong Kong fifth at 955 while host country the Philippines a distant sixth at 967. Rhodes, 57, is from Mildura in northern Victoria and last year made an impressive senior debut with victory in the Australian Senior Amateur but said he was surprised to find himself the individual winner in the APGC tournament. “I have won the New South Wales Senior Amateur, the Victorian Senior Amateur and the South Australian Senior Amateur but by far my first international win is something I did not expect,” Rhodes said. “I really struggled on the second and third rounds but the first round I could have scored really well but yesterday and today I really had to battle to hold my score together.” Rhodes said he enjoyed both the Philippines hospitality and the golf course “immensely”. “It was a very, very pleasant experience,” he said. The result was a welcome comeback for the Australians who struggled to finish third in China last year behind winner New Zealand and runner-up Japan.
Back on track: Australian team spearhead Greg Rhodes smiles after missing a shot. DECEMBER 2016 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ 9
RYDER CUP STAR COACHES DUBAI YOUNGSTERS Ryder Cup star Rafa Cabrera Bello took some time out from his busy globe-trotting schedule when he delighted children with coaching tips at the Sheikh Rashid School for Boys in Dubai. He’s been hitting the heights all season but the 2012 Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner, who hasn’t missed a cut in competitive golf for more than a year, is known as one of the most down to earth and good-natured players on the European Tour and he proved it by passing on some of his knowledge to the eager schoolchildren during some down time in the emirate he calls his ‘second home’. “Just watching the kids smile really makes my day! I’m very happy to be given the 10 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ DECEMBER 2016
opportunity to be here and watch the kids play the game for the very first time and to see how excited they are and how they interact with their classmates,” said the Spaniard, who spent over an hour teaching the pupils the basics of the game as part of an initiative by the Emirates Golf Federation supported by the European Tour and DP World which will see more than 6000 schoolchildren given ‘introduction to golf’ lessons by the end of the year. “I think this initiative is a great idea in getting golf into the PE classes. This misconception that golf is for old men and nonathletic people is blown out of the way with an initiative like this. “If the schools have the space
and capacity to implement this initiative, then I think they should go for it. It will do lots of good for the sport and in this region,” Cabrera Bello said. Adel Zarouni, Vice Chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation said: “We aim to spread the game of golf into schools in the UAE attracting young boys who in future will hopefully be very good golfers. With kids, you need something to inspire them, something to give them that extra push. “Golf is not a big sport within the UAE; it’s mostly played by expats here, so it’s not spread at all in the schools. But this is a way for us to break through and naturally they like Rafa, he’s an inspiration for a lot of people. The most important thing is that
it opens up the doors for us to go to these schools because the schools want a serious initiative and you can’t find somebody bigger than a Ryder Cup player. I think Rafa is helping us a lot to get through to the schools and reach the kids.” Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), said: “Having Ryder Cup stars like Rafa here is what we’ve been missing before. The EGF, European Tour and DP World have done great work to involve kids but now we are getting parents engaged and professionals involved. The kids might not know the professional but the parents certainly will.”