APGC September 2015 by Timothy Campbell

APGC

ASIA-PACIFIC GOLF CONFEDERATION JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 2015

Picturesque: The Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Yangmei hosted the inaugural APGC Junior Championship Mitsubishi Corporation Cup.

CONTENTS Koreans claim new junior event

1-3

Top Aussies eye Hong Kong

4-5

Mitsubishi comes on board

IMG Academy chips in

Affiliate in focus: Armenia

Chairman’s message

Powerful PNG

Thailand’s triumph

Young gun’s success

Key changes to JGA

Koreans claim victory Korea blasted their way to a three-day total of 280 – eight under the card – to snare the inaugural APGC Junior Championship Mitsubishi Corporation Cup at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Yangmei.

The pairing of Young-woong Kim and Hyun-kyung Park fired a final-round 68 to defeat the Australian team by four shots. Japan finished a further two

shots back at two under to finish third on 284. Australia had edged in front after the second day of the tournament but were over-run by the Koreans on the final day.

Korea’s Park and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka both posted four-under rounds of 68 to top the female individual competition. After their overall scores were compared according to the tournament rule, Hataoka was named the winner. n Continued page 2

Korean pair claim victory n From page 1

She also received an invitation to tee up in next year’s Korean pro tour tournament Kia Motors Korea Women’s Open Golf Championship. Sun-Yi Lu, of Chinese Taipei, was the top male player on the last day, shooting two-under-par to win the men’s individual competition. He scored an invitation to join the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup (September 2427) at the Ohtone Country Club in Japan, co-sanctioned by Japan Golf Tour and Asian Tour. A ceremony was held at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club’s banquet hall to award the top three teams – Korea, Australia (Cameron John and Rebecca Kay) and Japan (Ren Okazaki and Hataoka). The Koreans were in the same group as the Australians and the Japanese in the final round. They started the round at six-under on 138, tied with the Australians, but had a one shot lead over the Japanese. The Koreans overtook their rivals after Park scored birdies on the sixth, eighth, ninth and 10th holes, and maintained their lead until the end. Park’s four birdies highlighted a bogey-free round of 68. “I didn’t take any birdie since the 11th hole, so I decided to be on the defensive and be steady instead of being aggressive since I was already four-under-par on the first 10 holes,” Park said. Kim, who shot a final-round two-over-par, said: “Even though I didn’t perform well [on the final day] and I was worried I would drag down my team, we trusted each other when playing throughout the week.” Kim and Park are individual winners in the Neighbors Trophy Championship, while Park also won the Queen Sirikit Cup – Asia Pacific Amateur Ladies Golf Team Championship.

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Victorious: Above, Korean winners Hyuan-kyung Park and Young-woon Kim; and left, Australian runners-up Cameron John and Becky Kay.

Park said she really wanted to win the new championship and treasured her victory, especially since she was not in a very good condition in the lead-up to the event. Lu scored consecutive birdies on the first two holes and added one more on the 10th. However, he struggled on the last nine holes and recorded bogeys on the 11th, 14th and 15th before

stabilising to take two more birdies on the 16th and 18th. He carded a two-under-par 70 to win the male individual competition. “My confidence was boosted by the 15-foot birdie putt on the first hole and I was feeling even better after the second birdie on the second hole,” he said. “There were some ups and downs on the last nine holes

because I made the first bogey on the 11th which affected my rhythm. I was going a little fast and took two more bogeys, but luckily I made it up with two more birdies on the last three holes.” Lu has played four-ball and foursome before but this was his first time teaming up with a female player. “This has been a very exciting and challenging week for me in this competition,” he said after the tournament. “But I think we didn’t work well enough as a team and I made more mistakes on the second day when I was more stressed, so the outcome [for the team competition] wasn’t good.”

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Host: The Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club in Hong Kong.

Big guns take aim at HK Australia will send a powerpacked team to Hong Kong in October in a bid to snare the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship for the second straight year.

The squad will be led by teen star Ryan Ruffels, the highestranked amateur in the field to tee up at Clearwater Bay Golf Club from October 1-4. When invitations were finalised, the 17-year-old Victorian was 10th on the world amateur rankings. A winner of the Australian Boys’ Amateur last year, he is also the youngest winner of

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Murdaca has continued his success … taking out the South Australian Amateur Classic the prestigious Riversdale Cup in Melbourne, winning the tournament as a 15-year-old. Ruffels was a highly creditable fourth behind runaway winner and compatriot Antonio Murdaca at last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur at Royal Melbourne, while also adding the Callaway Junior World Golf Championship

trophy to his crammed cabinet. He tested the professional waters at the 2013 Victorian Open and missed the cut, and later that year finished tied for 19th in the Queensland Open to become the youngest person in the history of the PGA Tour of Australasia to play at the weekend in one of their events.

Murdaca will be back to defend his title and was to have been joined by talented countryman Taylor Macdonald, who decided to turn pro earlier this year. The South Australian missed the cut at The Masters in April but said he was happy with the way he played and had gained invaluable experience mixing with such an elite field. Murdaca has continued his success this year, taking out the South Australian Amateur Classic. He and China’s Guan Tianlang are the two former champions to contest the event.

Mitsubishi driven to support golf A generous sponsorship deal between Mitsubishi and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation ensured a solid field for the inaugural APGC Junior Championship Mitsubishi Corporation Cup in Chinese Taipei.

The arrangement between the two organisations allocated travel and accommodation funds for two national teams, each made up of two boys and

two girls to compete at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club. Mitsubishi’s contribution continued a history of support

for golf stretching back more than 40 years. It was in 1973 the corporation became involved in sponsorship of professional tournament golf in Japan. Since last year, as the entire Mitsubishi Group, the company became an affiliate backer of the APGC Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup, one of the key events on the Japan pro tour. In amateur golf, Mitsubishi

is already a supporter of the Japan Golf Association, sending two Japanese players – a boy and a girl – to the British Junior Open, which is held the same week as the Open Championship. The combination of this comprehensive backing and their relationship with the APGC, Mitsubishi decided to extend its support to the APGC Junior Championship.

Stars align: Above, Ryan Ruffels chats to Rory McIlroy at the Australian Open; and right, Antonio Murdaca, the winner of last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne.

Tianlang won the AAC in Thailand in 2012. In April 2013, he became the youngest player to make the cut in PGA Tour history, finishing 58th at The Masters at just 14 years and five months. Two weeks later, on a sponsors exemption, he played in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, again making the cut with rounds of 72-69 but slipping down the table on the weekend. South Korea’s Gunn Yang, last year’s US Amateur Champion, will be the second-highest world-ranked player in the line-up.

After winning the US title, Yang made his PGA Tour debut at the Farmers Insurance Open in February and also played in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the RBC Heritage and The Masters, where he failed to make the cut. He also missed the cut at The Open and The US Open. However, he got to play the final two rounds on the PGA Tour at the Crowne Plaza Invitational and was tied for 15th after the opening two days before sliding to a share of 65th spot. Apart from a place in The Masters, the winner of the AAC,

along with the runner-up, gains entry to International Final Qualifying for The Open. The tournament has rapidly gained international prestige since its debut event in 2009 and is now considered an “elite”

event by the World Amateur Golf Ranking, in that any player who makes the cut is eligible to be ranked. Only the US Amateur, British Amateur and European Amateur have this distinction.

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IMG Academy chips in to add class to inaugural junior event The pace-setting IMG Academy was on hand to help players competing in the APGC’s inaugural Junior Championship in Chinese Taipei.

The sophisticated and lavishly equipped and staffed program has won more junior golf tournaments than any of its rival schemes around the world. No other comparable organisation has generated more college scholarships or put as many golfers on professional tours as the IMG Academy. Located in Bradenton, Florida, the academy has helped countless golfers reach their potential. Its impressive roll call of honours includes 151 Rolex Junior All-Americans, 10 Rolex Players of the Year, four US Girls Junior champions, three US Amateur champions and countless professional tour winners. Current alumni playing on professional tours include Paula Creamer, Jessica Korda, Mika Miyazato, Sean O’Hair and Peter Uihlein. IMG’s full-time academic program, which includes ESL programs for international students, annually helps send student-athletes to some of the highest-performing universities in the US, including Brown, Duke, Harvard, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford and Yale. In addition to the full-time program, IMG Academy offers weekly and multi-week youth camps year-round. Mental-conditioning coach Christian Smith is a key leader of the academy who brings an abundance of experience with him from both the academic and golfing worlds. His primary responsibility is to work alongside the golf program with both groups and individuals.

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Best of the best: The IMG Academy boasts excellent facilities (above), staff – including mental-conditioning coach Christian Smith (below) – and alumni, including Paula Creamer (left).

Before joining the IMG Academy, where he interned in 2006, Smith served as a volunteer assistant men’s golf coach at San Diego State University alongside coaches Dale Walker and Ryan Donovan. With an in-depth knowledge of all facets of golf in conjunction with the mental side of the game, Smith has also competed at the amateur

level as an individual and as part of a team for his club, county, university and country, in regional, collegiate, national, international and professional events, which enables him to relate to golfers of all abilities. Senior certified coach Shane Reiser, the student-athlete adviser, has been a part of the IMG Academy golf program since 1998. He has conducted

many clinics abroad as a senior certified coach and helped develop several student-athletes into competitive golfers. Reiser is responsible for guiding student-athletes through the college planning and placement process, and also serves as an adviser to families to ensure each student-athlete is reaching their potential on the golf course and in the classroom.

AFFILIATE IN FOCUS: ARMENIA Although the game of golf is still young in Armenia, the mountainous nation bordering Turkey and Iran has an enthusiastic group of golfers driving a campaign to increase participation across the country.

The National Golf Association of Armenia recently became the 151st affiliate of The R&A, and the newly formed body is making steady progress to strengthen the foundations of the game and attract interest in the sport. The development of golf in Armenia started in 2005 at Ararat Valley Country Club, the country’s only golf course and the first country club to be established in the entire Caucasus region. Set in the shadow of Mt Ararat, the nine-hole facility in the capital city of Yerevan counts 50 male, female and junior golfers as the core Armenian participants in golf. Increased economic growth and stability in Armenia has bolstered new interest in the game and the Ararat Valley Golf Academy was established in 2012. Although there are no certified teaching professionals in Armenia, experienced amateur golfers have stepped in to help introduce beginners to the sport.

A floodlit driving range, pro shop and rental equipment service complement the 3243-yard golf course to make Ararat Valley the epicentre of golf in Armenia, with the hope more facilities will be built. New competitive tournaments for both men and women have been established at the course to help players develop their game. The annual Vahakni Open welcomes golfers from throughout Armenia and abroad and serves as a centrepiece in the association’s efforts to generate excitement and support for the sport. Armenia has three million citizens within its borders, but there are an estimated eight million Armenians living outside the country in neighbouring Middle Eastern nations, Eastern

Europe, the US and many other Western countries. Armenia values its strong ties to Armenian communities abroad and the economy is heavily supported by investment from expatriates. It is hoped Armenian golfers living outside the country will help encourage the development of golf infrastructure in Armenia. The global Armenian community comes together to celebrate sport at the PanArmenian Games, held every four years in Yerevan. The event is open to all Armenians worldwide and includes sports such as football, basketball, swimming and athletics. The re-introduction of golf into the Olympics spurred the decision to have amateur golf included within the Games for

the first time this year and will no doubt raise the profile of the sport within the country. In the run-up to the Games, golfers from Ararat have stepped onto the international competitive scene. The Armenian national team competed in The Balkan Challenge Trophy in Bulgaria in 2012 and Slovenia in 2013, an event supported by The R&A that features teams from 11 different countries in the region. The female national team also has one player and the association will be actively seeking new competitive opportunities for its top golfers as the game continues to grow in Armenia. For more information on golf in Armenia, contact Karen Hovhannisyan (secretary) at golf_sporting@yahoo.com

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Chairman’s message

APGC Chairman Dr David Cherry I have just returned from a very successful inaugural APGC Mitsubishi Junior Championship at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Chinese Taipei.

There were 14 member countries represented in a mixed (males and females) format of a fourball best ball, foursomes and singles. I was somewhat anxious about the format but how wrong I was – the enjoyment on the players’ faces said it all. APGC is extremely fortunate to have the Mitsubishi Corporation sponsor this event and I thank them sincerely as we will be able to reimburse every participating member a significant amount to offset the airfare costs. The Mitsubishi Corporation, which was well-represented, could see the success of the event and will hopefully want to continue its sponsorship into the future. The Sunrise Golf and Country Club was an outstanding venue as the course is a true championship test, but to have oncourse accommodation as well as practice and entertainment facilities added to the enjoyment of the participants. The leading male player has been invited to play in the Asia Pacific Mitsubishi Diamond Cup (a JGA Professional tour event) while the leading female will be invited to play in the Korean Women’s Open. The event is gaining traction as plans are advanced to allow a select team from outside of APGC to play next year. There was an educational session in the afternoon after each round – one on rules and etiquette by our R&A representative Ishwar Achanta, and two sessions by representatives from the IMG Academy in

Florida on how to prepare mentally and physically to optimise your performance, as well as an insight into the US college system. Each team had at least one manager and I did not hear anything but praise for the event, so I expect many more teams to compete in future. While on the subject of junior golf, this newsletter refers to the winner and runnerup in the Japan Amateur – a 17-year-old beating a 15-year-old. Guan Tianlang was only 13 when he won the AAC in Thailand. I can remember when a junior was anyone under 21 and at the other end a senior was over 55. Those limits possibly need refining as golf is clearly an ageless sport. I played in our local top interclub competition this year and the player who hit off in front of me was 55 years my junior. Golf is unique in many ways: it is selfregulating, has high ethical standards, has a handicap system that allows players of unequal ability to play competitively, is good for your health and can be played for almost your entire life. I don’t need to persuade anyone reading this, but compare our sport with many others and you will see how those entrusted with leadership of our sport need to continue to protect the traditions of our great game. APGC is about to enter a very busy golfing schedule with the Asia Pacific Mitsubishi Diamond Cup, to be played at the beautiful Ohtone Club outside of Tokyo (September 24-27). Many of our leading amateurs have been invited to play as part of the Mitsubishi Corporation’s commitment to the APGC, for which we are very grateful.

The next week will be the AAC at Clearwater Bay in Hong Kong. Two weeks later will be the APGC senior individual and team championship in Qingdao, China, followed by the Nomura Cup in Abu Dhabi. Our Secretary, K.J. Lee, has had his hands full preparing for these events and I remain extremely grateful for the effort he continues to put in for the benefit of APGC. Keisuke Muratsu, as championship committee chairman, has also put in many hours for us, including a site visit to Ulaanbataar in Mongolia. He is also one of only three nationally qualified referees APGC can call upon for major events and I am also indebted to him. The AAC has grown into the major amateur event in the APGC – and possibly the world – and is referred to elsewhere in this newsletter, but it is worth remembering last year’s winner Antonio Murdaca has the opportunity to defend his title – as Hideki Matsuyama did successfully. He would know it will be a difficult task and I wish him well. Clearwater Bay is a terrific testing venue and the management and membership have done all that has been asked and more to ensure a great championship. The AGM of APGC will take place during the AAC, at which APGC will formally join with the Queen Sirikit members to make APGC truly representative of all amateur golfers in our region. I am very excited about this and thank RaeVadee Suwan, their chairwoman, for her co-operation. In years to come, people will look back at this as a hugely significant event and probably wonder why it took so long to eventuate.

Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation

Chairman Dr David Cherry

Vice chairman Mr Dilip Thomas

Treasurer Mr Philip Hassall

Secretary Mr Kyungjae Lee

Championship Committee chairman Mr Keisuki Muratsu

Mr Taimur Amin

Mr Zhang Xiaoning

Mr Mohammed Faisal Al-Naimi

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 8 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ SEPTEMBER 2015

Thailand triumphs at SEA Games Thailand overpowered its opposition to snare all four gold medals in the golf section of the South-East Asian Games at the Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore in June.

The Thais took out the men’s and women’s individual and

team events for a clean sweep of the competition. In the men’s individual section, Natipong Srithong took gold ahead of Singapore’s Johnson Poh Swee Kiat, while Thailand also collected the bronze medal through Tawan

Phongphun. In the men’s team competition, the Thais again beat Singapore to the gold, with Indonesia claiming the bronze. Suthavee Chanachai collected gold in the women’s individual ahead of Indonesia’s Rivani

Adelia Sihotang. Singapore’s Koh Sock Hwee clinched the bronze medal. The Thai women combined to take out the team’s event ahead of Indonesia and Singapore. A total of 56 players from 10 countries competed.

On top: Men’s gold medallist Soti Dinki, of Papua New Guinea, tees off at the Royal Port Moresby Golf Club. Photo: Michael Boeo

PNG proves too powerful Papua New Guinea won all four gold medals in the Pacific Games at Royal Port Moresby Golf Course in July.

Soti Dinki and Kristine Seko claimed the men’s and women’s individual events while both PNG teams grabbed gold. Dinki’s final-round 74 left him four shots clear of overnight leader William Howard, from the Cook Islands, who recorded

a four-round total of 10-over 298. Howard, meanwhile, gave up his four-shot overnight lead and crashed to a 10-over final round of 82, and 302 in total. Adrien Peres from New Caledonia won a bronze medal after carding a 75 and 304 for four rounds, just one shot ahead of Vanuatu’s Josepho Matuatu, who shot 77 in his final round. In the women’s section,

Seko hit a solid 74 in blustery conditions to finish four shots clear of Elmay Viking, from the Cook Islands, while New Caledonia’s Arianne Klotz took bronze after slipping with a final-round 78. PNG took gold in the men’s team event, after leading by four shots entering the final round. Dinki, Brian Taikiri, Wally Ilake and Steven George combined

to tally 917, three shots clear of silver medallists New Caledonia (920), with Fiji (929) taking bronze. PNG also took gold in the women’s team event, snatching back the lead it surrendered to New Caledonia on day three. The PNG four-round tally of 947 was four shots ahead of New Caledonia (951), with the Cook Islands taking bronze with 979.

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Teen star makes history to claim Japan Amateur title Takumi Kanaya has won the 100th Japan Amateur Championship, becoming the youngest winner of the tournament.

In an all-teenage battle, the 17-year-old defeated Keita Nakajima, 15, at the historic tournament played at Japan’s No.1 course, Hirono Golf Club, and the Ono Golf Club, where a field of 220 players, including 15 invitees from other countries, battled for two days to determine the 64 players to proceed to the match play. The inaugural Japan Amateur was staged in 1907 as the Japan Golf Championship at Kobe Golf Club in Hyogo. It started as a team competition between the members of Kobe Golf Club and Nippon Race Club Golfing Association at Negishi, Yokohama, and had a field of just 14 players. The competitors were all foreigners until the ninth edition. In 1924, the Japan Golf Association was founded and the Championship has been owned and run by JGA since. No Championship was played

Young gun: Takumi Kanaya, inset, won the Japan Amateur Championship, which featured a field of 220 players and was held over two days at the Hirono Golf Club and the Ono Golf Club.

in 1923, 1940 or between 1943 and 1949. Past champions include Shun Nomura, Shiro Akaboshi, Naoyasu Nabeshima, Ginjiro Nakabe, Tommy Nakajima,

Massy Kuramoto, Hidemasa Hoshino, Katsumasa Miyamoto, Yusaku Miyazato, Kyung Tae Kim. The championship was played in stroke play format from

1907-1926, went to match play from 1927-1966, returned to stroke play from 1967-1999, and reverted back to match play in 2004, where it has remained.

Administration shuffle for JGA The Japan Golf Association has recently made several key changes to its administration.

Tsunetada Takeda becomes the chairman and CEO after acting as vice-chairman and board member from 2009. Born in Tokyo, he was educated at Keio University (School of Economics, 1963) and MIT Sloan School of Management (MBA, 1975) before working at Mitsubishi Corporation from 1963-2002.

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Takeda was also president of the Tokyo Golf Club from 2009-13, president of the Kanto Golf Organisation from 2009-15 and a board member of the Japan Golf Tour Organisation from 2009. Keiji Nagata becomes vicechairman and COO. He was educated at Keio University (School of Commerce, 1967) and worked in business at Canon (1967-2009) and in 2007 was made president of the

Japan Commercial Broadcasting Association. A board member of the JGA in 2008, he became managing director in 2009 and executive director in 2011. Meanwhile, Hiroshi (Andy) Yamanaka becomes executive director of the association. Also born in Tokyo, he was educated at Meiji University (School of Law, 1986) and was in business with Dunlop Sports Enterprises from 1986-2000.

A board member of the JGA from 2013, Yamanaka held several senior positions, including at the Japan Golf Association (2013 board member); Japan Golf Tour Organisation (2000-07 director of competitions, 2007 board member, 2008-14 executive director); Japan Professional Golfers’ Association (2008 board member); and Japan Professional Golf Hall of Fame (2012 board member).