Asia-Pacific’s top male amateur golfers to compete in inaugural 72-hole championship
HONG KONG – The Asian Amateur Championship, organised by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation and supported by the Masters Tournament and The R&A, released its inaugural championship field today, which includes the top male amateur golfers from 30 APGC member nations.
A 117-player field will compete in the 72-hole stroke play event on the World Cup Course at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China, 29 October – 1 November 2009. An invitation to play in the 2010 Masters Tournament awaits the winner, while both the winner and the runner(s)-up will earn a place in International Final Qualifying for The Open Championship being played next year at St Andrews.
“With the support of the Masters Tournament and The R&A, amateur golf in the region has received a tremendous boost,” said Kwangsoo Hur, President of the APGC, the event’s organiser. “Showcasing this region’s top players is an incredible opportunity, both for the entrants in the field and the overall growth of the game. A new champion will emerge from this event that will, in time, help inspire others to dream of competing at the sport’s highest level.”
The field was determined by inviting the top two ranked amateur players from each of the APGC member countries plus the four top ranked players from the host country, as ranked on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) as of 14 August 2009. If there was not a sufficient number of players ranked from a member country, the member country nominated a player(s) from their country with an established handicap of less than 5.4, to be approved by the APGC, to fulfil the two positions eligible from that country.
The remainder of the field was filled by taking the next highest ranked players of APGC member countries, not otherwise qualified from the WAGR as of 14 August 2009. The maximum number of eligible players from any APGC member country, with the exception of the host country, was six.
On Thursday 29 October and Friday 30 October, tee times are scheduled for 7:00-08:21 and 10:51-12:12 off the first and 10th tees, but subject to change. After 36 holes, a cut will be made to the top 60 players and ties. On Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November, tee times will run from 07:30-12:09 off the first tee.
More than 150 countries will see television coverage of the Asian Amateur Championship, with programming that includes two hours of event exposure during the third and final rounds with Peter Oosterhuis as lead commentator. In addition, 30-minute highlight shows will follow the first, second and final rounds. The broadcasts will be aired on ESPN Star (Asia), Guangdong Golf Channel (China), Tokyo Broadcasting System (Japan), ESPN International (Latin America, Northern Africa and the Middle East), SuperSport (Southern Africa), Network Ten (Australia), Sky New Zealand, CNBC Europe and ESPN2 (United States).
Last month, IBM, KFC, Rolex and Zurich Financial Services, Inc. were named the event’s sponsors, adding to the support already being provided by the Masters Tournament and The R&A.
For more information on the Asian Amateur Championship, including the latest news from Mission Hills, live scoring and a selection of video features, please visit www.asianamateurchampionship.com.
Asian Amateur Championship Field (23 October 2009)
Matthew Giles
Australia
Matt Jager
Australia
Bryden Macpherson
Australia
Daniel Nisbet
Australia
Jordan Sherratt
Australia
Brendan Smith
Australia
Naser Jacob
Bahrain
Abdulla Sultan
Bahrain
Liton Hawlader
Bangladesh
Dulal Hossain
Bangladesh
Jamal Hossain Mollah
Bangladesh
Miah Sayum
Bangladesh
Shakhawat Shohel
Bangladesh
Mohd Zakiruzzaman
Bangladesh
Jeevan Gurung
Bhutan
Palden Tshering
Bhutan
Seng Van Seiha
Cambodia
Jian Chuan Lin
China
Ren Han
China
Mu Hu
China
Youyi Huang
China
Xiao Long Chen
China
Xiao Se
China
Huo Wei
China
Wei Wei
China
Huang Wenyi
China
Zhao Xiongyi
China
Ou Yang Zheng
China
Xin-Jun Zhang
China
Chi-Hsien Hsieh
Chinese Taipei
Li-Peng Hsu
Chinese Taipei
Tao Huang
Chinese Taipei
Chien-Yao Hung
Chinese Taipei
Teng Kao
Chinese Taipei
Fei-Hao Yang
Chinese Taipei
Sonny Karati
Cook Islands
Zoheer Ahmad
Fiji
Vikrant Chandra
Fiji
James Honda
Guam
Louie Sunga
Guam
Roderic de Lacy Staunton
Hong Kong
Steven Lam
Hong Kong
Shinichi Mizuno
Hong Kong
Lok Tin Liu
Hong Kong
Shun Yat Hak
Hong Kong
Abhishek Jha
India
Rashid Khan
India
Moin Malak
India
Vikram Rana
India
Arshdeep Tiwana
India
Gagan Verma
India
Peter Gumulya
Indonesia
Hardjito
Indonesia
Benny Kasiadi
Indonesia
Suprato
Indonesia
Hassan Karimian Noshahar
Iran
Seyed Mahmoud Jozi
Iran
Yosuke Asaji
Japan
Shingo Ito
Japan
Keisuke Otawa
Japan
Naoyuki Tamura
Japan
Tomoya Tokunaga
Japan
Tomohiro Umeyama
Japan
Eric Chun
Korea
Chang-Won Han
Korea
Yoon, Jung-Ho
Korea
Meen-Whee Kim
Korea
Kyoung-Hoon Lee
Korea
Il-Hwan Park
Korea
Tae-Hoon Song
Korea
Phetsamone Seesomwang
Laos
Kenneth De Silva
Malaysia
Nicholas Fung
Malaysia
Gavin Kyle Green
Malaysia
Mohd Iszaimi Ismail
Malaysia
Mohd Iylia Jamil
Malaysia
Abel Tam
Malaysia
Tsend Munkh-Orgil
Mongolia
Delgermaa Ulziidelger
Mongolia
Aung Win
Myanmar
Soe Moe Win
Myanmar
Wongchen Dhondup
Nepal
Rupak Prasad Acharya
Nepal
Ryan Fox
New Zealand
Daniel Pearce
New Zealand
Peter Spearman-Burn
New Zealand
Thomas Spearman-Burn
New Zealand
Ben Taylor
New Zealand
Ben Wallace
New Zealand
Mohd Aali Hai
Pakistan
Tariq Mehmoud
Pakistan
Jhonnel Ababa
Philippines
Antonio Asistio
Philippines
Dante Becierra
Philippines
Judson Eustaquio
Philippines
Mhark Fernando
Philippines
Peter Villaber
Philippines
Malase Maifea
Samoa
Patrick Fequleai
Samoa
Gregory Foo
Singapore
Jerome Ng
Singapore
Jonathan Woo
Singapore
Chia Chong Zheng
Singapore
Lam Zhiqun
Singapore
K A Chandradasa
Sri Lanka
Amrith de Soysa
Sri Lanka
Mithun Perera
Sri Lanka
Varit Chomchalam
Thailand
Thanyakon Khrongpa
Thailand
Nitipat Krobteeranon
Thailand
Poom Saksansin
Thailand
Wasin Sripattranusorn
Thailand
Rattanon Wannasrichan
Thailand
Abdullah Al Musharrekh
United Arab Emirates
Ahmed Al Musharrekh
United Arab Emirates
Thai Duong Nguyen
Vietnam
Trinh Van Tho
Vietnam
Entry Criteria
1. The top two ranked amateur players from each of the APGC member countries plus the four top ranked players from the host country, as ranked on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) as of 14 August 2009. If there was not a sufficient number of players ranked from that member country, the member country nominated a player(s) from their country with an established handicap of less than 5.4, to be approved by the APGC, to fulfill the two positions eligible from that country.
2. The remainder of the field (maximum 120 players) was filled by taking the next highest ranked players of APGC Member Countries, not otherwise qualified from the WAGR as of 14 August 2009. The maximum number of eligible players from any APGC member country, with the exception of the host country, was six.
3. The AAC reserves the right to invite additional players at its discretio