The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) will return to Australia’s Royal Melbourne Golf Club for its 12th edition next year.
The APGC’s Kei Muratsu (far left), Tony Rule, Chairman of Membership at Royal Melbourne (second left), Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley (second right) and The R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers. Picture by AAC.
To be held from October 29 to November 1, 2020, the championship will feature the region’s finest male amateur players.
Founded in 2009 by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A, the AAC was established to further develop amateur golf in the Asia-Pacific region. The champion receives an invitation to compete in the Masters Tournament and The Open, while the runner(s)-up gain a place in Final Qualifying for The Open.
“One of the goals of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship was to show the world how golf is growing in our region,” said Kei Muratsu, Chairman of the APGC. “The success of this championship and the quality of the competitors in this field are shining examples of those goals coming to life. We are confident that next year’s return to Australia will mark another wonderful chapter in the legacy of the AAC.”
Andrew Kirby, Captain of Royal Melbourne Golf Club, which hosted the AAC in 2014, said: “We are thrilled to host the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship once again and bring this exceptional event back to the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
“Our courses are among the best in the world, and we have been fortunate to host national and international events challenging many of the world’s top players. Hosting the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will be another tremendous opportunity to add to that tradition and promote the game of golf in our country and the Asia-Pacific region. We look forward to welcoming the region’s best amateurs to Australia in 2020.”
Next year’s championship will mark the second edition of the AAC in Australia and the first time the AAC has returned to a past venue. The country is home to two past champions, Curtis Luck (2016) and Antonio Murdaca, who triumphed at Royal Melbourne in 2014.
“Hosting the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is a unique and important way that we as a country can support and grow the game of golf in this region,” said Golf Australia Chairman Andrew Newbold.
“Our mission is to advance and expand the game from grassroots participation to elite levels of competition. This event enables our amateurs to compete for the most highly coveted opportunities in the sport while inspiring the next generation of golfers. We are also delighted to be able to again showcase the magnificent Royal Melbourne Golf Club, one of many world-class courses in Victoria’s globally revered Sandbelt,” he added.
Royal Melbourne Golf Club, established in 1891, is situated southeast of Melbourne’s city centre in Black Rock, Victoria. The club’s par-72, 6,645-yard West Course was designed by Alister MacKenzie and the par-71, 6,579-yard East Course was designed by MacKenzie’s Australian partner Alex Russell.
In 1959, the club created a new ‘Composite Course’ for the Canada Cup by combining 12 holes from the West and six from the East. The 2020 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will take place on the Composite Course, the same course used during the 2014 championship.
The club has a strong history of hosting top-tier Australian events as well as international competitions, including the Presidents Cup (1998, 2011, 2019), World Cup (1959, 1972, 1988, 2013), Eisenhower Trophy (1968) and numerous men’s and women’s Australian Open championships.
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