Gotemba (Japan): The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A have chosen the Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) as its next venue for the 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. The Championship, which will return to Dubai and the Middle East for the second time after its debut in the region in 2021, will be held from October 23 to 26, 2025.
Meanwhile, the 2024 edition is being held this week in Japan and the field has 120 players including four Indians. The field for the annual event comprises the top male amateurs in the Asia-Pacific region representing the 43 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation affiliated organisations.
The champion of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Amateur will receive an invitation to compete in the following year’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and an exemption into The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale. The runner(s)-up will gain a place in the Final Qualifying for The Open.
“We have a proud tradition of hosting the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at world-class venues and are continuing that with the hosting of the 2025 edition at Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course,” said Taimur Hassan Amin, Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, on behalf of the Founding Partners. “Dubai and the United Arab Emirates have a rich history of golf in the region, including the 2021 Asia-Pacific Amateur won by Keita Nakajima, and we are thrilled to watch some of the best players in the world return next year.”
Notable past competitors include Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur and the 2021 Masters champion, and Cameron Smith, champion of The 150th Open. Other top players that have used the Asia-Pacific Amateur as a springboard to a notable professional career include Australia’s Cameron Davis and Min Woo Lee, Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan, the Republic of Korea’s Si-Woo Kim and Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Japan’s Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox.
Collectively, alumni of the Championship have gone on to win 27 PGA tournaments and more than 130 events across major professional tours.
“Bringing the collection of talent from across the Asia-Pacific region to Emirates Golf Club in 2025 will be an honour,” said General Abdullah Al Hashmi, Vice Chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation.
–IANS