The recent decision to hold the 2017 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at the Royal Wellington Golf Club chalked up an exciting first for New Zealand.
Shaping up to be one of the most important golf tournaments ever to be held in the country, the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, (APGC) event will attract leading amateurs from 39 Asia-Pacific nations to compete on a superb championship course.
Formed in 1963, the APGC formed to run a teams event between its three original members – Japan, The Philippines and Chinese Taipei. That event continues in the form of the Nomura Cup. In fact, New Zealand won the cup in 1995, by a one-shot margin over Australia.
The confederation has greater international prominence today, and runs the APGC Senior Amateur Championship and the Bonallack Trophy, in which European amateurs are pitted against the best amateurs from Asia and the Pacific.
The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) began in 2009. Jin Cheng of China won this year's tournament after play at the Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club in Hong Kong was suspended after only three full rounds due to high winds and rainfall.
The Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Korea will host the 2016 championship, and then it is Royal Wellington’s turn on October 23-27, 2017. The 39 member countries are invited to enter two of their highest-ranked amateurs, with the remaining spots filled by their next-highest-ranked World Amateur Golf players, to a maximum of six from any one member country.
A New Zealander has yet to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. Peter Spearman-Burn achieved our best placing with a share of third place in 2009. Maybe the 2017 tournament on a home-course will bring Kiwis better luck, and the opportunity to earn a place in another prestigious championship.
The AAC winner secures a place in the Masters, and both the winner and runner-up secure a place in the Open Championship. Like the US Amateur, British Amateur and European Amateur Championships, the AAC is an elite event in that any player who makes the cut is eligible to be ranked.
Royal Wellington has its work cut out, however, it can count on support from the confederation, which includes representatives from Augusta National Golf Club and R&A Ltd. It is expected that the Augusta National representative will be on site in Wellington at least 12 months prior to the event because of the considerable planning and organisation required to stage a tournament of such size and prestige.
Royal Wellington Golf Club recently completed an extensive, $7million course renovation and makeover, with design by partners Greg Turner and Scott McPherson. Its proud heritage includes hosting many amateur championships and the New Zealand Open seven times, including the 1954 Open, which Sir Bob Charles won as an 18-year-old amateur.
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