Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship

Why Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Wenyi Ding is likely to pass on Masters, Open Championship exemptions

“I think more likely I should take the card.”

Wenyi Ding picked up one of the biggest wins of his life Sunday.

The 19-year-old from China, who won the USGA’s 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes, captured the 2024 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba in Japan, carding four consecutive rounds of 3-under 67 to claim the title by one shot over fellow countryman Ziqin Zhou, a freshman at California. Ding, ranked fifth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, earned exemptions into the 2025 Masters and 2025 Open Championship with the win, but he’s planning to pass on them.

The reason why? He’s likely turning pro before the end of the year to earn his DP World Tour card.

“Before I played this, I can’t imagine I’m guarantee(d) to win this tournament,” Ding said Sunday. “So, I don’t know. It’s a problem.

“I think more likely I should take the card.”

A follow-up question was then asked about when that would happen, and Ding said maybe next week.

Wenyi Ding of China lifts the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship trophy after winning the 2024 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship being played at the Taiheiyo Club in Gotemba, Japan on Sunday 6 October 2024. Photograph by AAC.

Ding, who withdrew from Arizona State before the fall after playing the spring with the Sun Devils, is No. 1 in the Global Amateur Pathway ranking, which rewards the top non-collegiate amateur every year with a DP World Tour card. To be eligible, a player must “not be a current NCAA Division-I player” and “be at least 20 years of age by the end of the calendar year.” Ding turns 20 in November.

The winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur gets an exemption into the two major championship, with the caveat the player remains an amateur. However, Ding sounds confident he will find his way to both Augusta National and golf’s oldest major in due time.

“No matter what, I’m amateur or pro, I will still play the Masters and The Open. So if I can, I can make it later,” he said.

Last year, Ding fell in a playoff to Jasper Stubbs at Royal Melbourne to lose the Asia-Pacific Amateur. This time around, in what could be his final event as an amateur, he picked up his latest signature win and proved his worth of the professional opportunities waiting for him.

He was asked whether there would be any regrets to passing on the exemptions, to which he answered: “A person can have a lot of regrets. When I was 14, I won the amateur event in China for three years, and every time you win, you got the Volvo China Open. But the call didn’t come. So it’s hard.”

Only time will tell if and when Ding will tee it up in the major championships.

Jasper Stubbs punches ticket to 2024 Masters with playoff win at 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship

Stubbs is the fourth Aussie winner of the championship over the last 10 years.

It’s a 22-hour flight from Melbourne, Australia to Augusta, Georgia. Jasper Stubbs will be making the trip next April after his win on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Aussie came from behind to force a playoff at 1 over and ultimately win the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at the famed Royal Melbourne to punch his ticket to the 2024 Masters as well as the Open Championship at Royal Troon next year. He’s also earned a place in next summer’s Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin in Ireland.

Stubbs, who lives just two miles from Royal Melbourne, beat Wenyi Ding, the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, and Sampson Zheng in two extra holes after he began the round six shots behind Zheng. He’s now the fourth Australian winner of the championship, joining Antonio Murdaca (2014), Curtis Luck (2016) and Harrison Crowe (2022).

Chuan-Tai Lin finished T-4 alongside Max Charles at 2 over, with Kazuma Kobori in sixth at 4 over. Anh Minh Nguyen and Marcus Lim finished T-7 at 6 over. Jeffrey Guan (7 over) and Billy Dowling (8 over) round out the top 10.

This year’s field featured 120 male amateurs from 37 Asian-Pacific nations. The championship was created in 2009 by the Masters, R&A and Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation to further develop amateur golf throughout the region.

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Keita Nakajima validates No. 1 status with Asia-Pacific Amateur title, Masters invitation

There may be no better way for the top amateur player in the world to validate his status than with an invitation to the Masters.

There may be no better way for the top amateur player in the world to validate his status than with an invitation to the Masters. After prevailing in a two-hole playoff, Keita Nakajima, the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for the past 28 weeks, is headed to Augusta National as the winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur. He becomes the third player from Japan to win the title, joining two-time AAC winner Hideki Matsuyama – now also a Masters champion – and Takumi Kanaya.

Nakajima, 21, made a bit more history, too, by becoming just the second playoff winner in the event’s history.

“I am very proud of what I have achieved,” Nakajima said. “To follow in the footsteps of Hideki-san and Takumi feels great. I am so excited that I will be playing three majors in 2022. I am very thankful for the tournament for giving us such great opportunities.”

Scores: Asia-Pacific Amateur

Earlier this year, Nakajima was awarded the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the world’s top-ranked amateur, which earned him a spot in the U.S. Open. The AAC gets him into the Masters and British Open.

Keita Nakajima, Asia-Pacific Amateur — Keita Nakajima of Japan lifts The Open flag and The Masters flag alongside the AAC trophy after winning the 2021 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. (Photo by AAC)

Nakajima took a one-shot lead into the final round at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He birdied three of his first five holes on Saturday, but Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho, who plays college golf for Notre Dame, remained on his heels after having made up considerable ground in Round 3 with a bogey-free 64.

Nakajima’s biggest stumble came at the ninth, where he made double bogey. He made up for it with three birdies on the back nine, but Kho’s final-round 65 to Nakajima’s 68 allowed Kho to catch the favorite at 14 under for the championship.

The two played the 18^th hole twice in sudden death and ultimately Nakajima won with a birdie the second time. Kho’s finish goes down as Hong Kong’s best in the 12-year history of the championship.

As junior golfers, Nakajima and Kho competed against each other, but Kho noted he hadn’t seen Nakajima for three or four years. Still, knowing what Nakajima has accomplished motivates him.

“To be able to go head-to-head against him is truly an honor,” he said. “It was really nice seeing him play these last two holes and he’s the best in the world. It just motivates me because I feel like I’m not that far off. I feel like I’ve learned a lot in two holes playing with him and I feel like I can bridge the gap.”

Korea’s Wooyoung Cho and China’s Bo Jin tied for third at 12 under. Defending champion Yuxin Lin, who was looking to become the first three-time AAC winner, was also a factor all week before falling to a tie for seventh with a final-round even-par 71.

Even though he remained on Nakajima’s heels for three rounds, Lin felt he didn’t have his A game all week.

“Just got to keep grinding out there and just try to play the best that you can with whatever you have, and I felt like I did that pretty well for the most part just made some mistakes today which killed the momentum but still a great learning experience.”

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Keita Nakajima regains top spot at Asia-Pacific Amateur with defending champ Yuxin Lin on his heels

With a Masters invitation on the line at the Asia-Pacific Am, Keita Nakajima and Yuxin Lin won’t go down without a fight.

There’s a reason that Keita Nakajima and Yuxin Lin were favorites entering the week at the Asia-Pacific Amateur, and with a Masters invitation on the line at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, they’ve shown they won’t go down without a fight.

Both world No. 1 amateur Nakajima, of Japan, and defending champion Yuxin Lin, of China, resurfaced at the top of the leaderboard after the third round and will have big targets on their backs entering Saturday’s fourth and final round.

Most notably, Lin had a third-round 65, which tied for the second-lowest round of the day. That effort was helped tremendously by birdies on his first three holes.

“I really couldn’t ask for a better start,” Lin said. “Made some mistakes on the front. Should have made a couple more putts but I feel like I played pretty solid all round and stayed pretty patient and really just stuck to my game plan.”

After opening with a 67 that left him part of a big group of leaders, Lin brought in a ho-hum round of even-par 71 on Thursday. His 65 moved him to 10 under for the week, and leaves him in solo second, one shot behind Nakajima.

“I’m just really glad I have this opportunity to be in contention again,” said Lin, who won this championship in 2017 and 2019. “Obviously, it would be nice to achieve the three-peat. I’ve got myself in this position and I’m going to enjoy tomorrow and see what happens.”

Yuxin Lin, Asia-Pacific Amateur — Yuxin Lin of China during round 3 of the 2021 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship being played on the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Friday, November 5, 2021. (Photo by AAC)

Much has been made of the difficulty of Dubai Creek’s three closing holes. Lin took a double-bogey at the par-4 18th in the second round. Those holes could present a major storyline down the stretch in the final round, particularly if scores remain close.

For his part, Nakajima played those holes in 1 under on Friday, birdieing No. 16 after hitting an 8-iron to 15 feet, on his way to 4-under 67. A par save at No. 18, where Nakajima took a drop after hitting his ball in a penalty area, was key in keeping his one-shot lead.

“A couple miss short putts but 16 was a big birdie and big save last hole,” Nakajima said in addressing his game, particularly his putting. “So good for final round putting.”

Second-round leader Bo Jin, who also hails from China and plays collegiately for Oklahoma State, remains in the mix, too, after following a bogey-free round of 64 on Thursday with a 70 on Friday. He bogeyed Nos. 17 and 18 coming in.

Jin had played 43 bogey-free holes up until that point.

“I didn’t technically notice how much but I just knew you had a pretty good stretch going in,” he said. “The bogey on the last two holes was not bad, too. 18 was a tough hole and 17 I left myself in a tough spot.”

Korea’s Sam Choi is tied for third with Jin at 9 under and Taichi Kho of Hong Kong is solo fifth at 8 under after his third-round 64, the low round of the day.

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Oklahoma State’s Bo Jin goes bogey free, climbs to Asia-Pacific Amateur lead

Bo Jin’s goal for the second round of the Asia-Pacific Amateur was a clean round. Mission accomplished.

Bo Jin’s goal for the second round of the Asia-Pacific Amateur was a clean round. Mission accomplished for the sophomore at Oklahoma State.

Without a single bogey in his second round at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club in United Arab Emirates, Dubai, Jin was able to piece together a 7-under 64 that moved him 23 spots up the AAC leaderboard and into the pole position. Entering the third round, Jin has a one-shot lead on five players tied for second, which includes world No. 1 amateur Keita Nakajima of Japan.

Jin, representing China this week, said putting made all the difference in the third round, but he hit the ball better, too.

“Yesterday I made double on 9 which is a pretty bad mistake,” he said. “Today I just tried to keep myself clean and keep it to a safe spot when the pins are tucked like that.”

There is some family history for Jin this week. His older brother Cheng won the 2015 iteration of the AAC when it was played at Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club in Hong Kong. His family also made golf headlines in 2019 when his sister Jiarui was co-medalist at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

“We are just brothers but on the golf course, I definitely want to beat him,” Bo said of his relationship with his brother. “He helps me a lot with my golf game and all the things that I have achieved I would not be here without him. I’m thankful to him but when we get on the golf course, I definitely want to beat him.”

As Jin charted his rise up the leaderboard on Thursday, the favorites scattered. Nakajima, who was part of a seven-way tie for the lead at the start of the day, remained close to the top with a round of 68. Korea’s Sam Choi, another co-leader from Wednesday, also had 68 to remain part of the large tie for second.

Jin’s Oklahoma State teammate Leo Oyo has put together rounds of 71-65 and at 6 under, is tied for seventh, two off the pace.

Lukas Michel, the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion from Australia, had a second-round 71 to drop to a tie for 15^th at 4 under.

“I actually hit the driver better today than yesterday,” Michel said. “But sometimes the worse you hit the driver, the luckier you get. Sometimes the further off-line you are, it’s a little better. I feel like my driving is actually improving. Hopefully tomorrow I can drive it a little bit better because it hasn’t been great, and then who knows what could happen.”

Defending champion Yuxin Lin is also at that number after a 71 of his own.

Crowded leaderboard at Asia-Pacific Amateur includes defending champ, world No. 1, past USGA champ

It doesn’t take long to find the favorites in this Asia-Pacific Amateur field. Just look at the top.

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It doesn’t take long to find the favorites in this Asia-Pacific Amateur field. After the first round at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, they’re all crowded at the top. In all, seven players share the first-round lead, and at least three of those men stick out.

World No. 1 amateur Keita Nakajima of Japan and two-time AAC winner Yuxin Lin of China – also the defending champion from his 2019 victory – were paired together for Wednesday’s opening round in Dubai and both walked away with a 4-under 67. Australian Lukas Michel, winner of the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur, also fired 67.

Sam Choi, Alexander Yang, Jimmy Zheng and Wooyoung Cho also had 67.

Lin, who plays for Florida, and Nakajima had never played together, but Lin didn’t buy into any talk of a rivalry between them during a big week when a Masters invitation is at stake for the winner.

“Obviously everyone is trying to win the tournament,” he said. “For me, I’m not really trying to compete with anyone else. Just trying to play the best golf that I can and the results should be good.”

Interestingly, both men stumbled at the start. Lin bogeyed his first hole, a par 4, while Nakajima birdied it. But Nakajima’s hand slipped on his driver at the next hole, and his tee shot sailed out of bounds to set up a double bogey.

“I had a good birdie at first hole, so I believe that I can make more birdies,” Nakajima said of recovering from an early big number.

The two men combined for 10 birdies over the next 11 holes.

Zheng, a sophomore at Duke, is the only New Zealander in the field of 93 players.

“I’m sure they will be happy to see that I’m at the top of the leaderboard, and I am happy having them cheer me on this week,” Zheng said of wearing his country’s colors.

Zheng eagled the fourth hole, a par 5, after setting up a 25-footer with a hybrid approach. His back nine included three birdies and no bogeys.

Yang, a freshman at Stanford who is representing Hong Kong this week, eagled the fourth as well as the 13^th, another par 5. He closed with two birdies as the wind picked up.

“I had good shots all the way in starting on 17 tee,” he said. “I hit driver, which is aggressive but it set me up with a good look at the green and made a putt there. Same thing on 18, good drive on the fairway and hit the shot to about 10 feet and made it.”

Michel, the Mid-Am champ who competed in the 2020 Masters courtesy of that win, had five birdies and only a single bogey.

Add Jun Min Lee to the highlight reel for an impromptu dip he took at the par-4 second. Lee, of South Korea, feel backward into the water attempting to hit a shot and then had to go back in to retrieve his club.

South Korea's Jun Min Lee made a splash during Round 1 of #AAC2021 😂 We caught up with him after his round to learn more 👇 pic.twitter.com/xkBqkherMA

— Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (@AAC_Golf) November 3, 2021

“It was a poor tee shot and poor layup and I was stuck behind the rocks and I was trying to get it out in the front right of the green or front right fringe and I was like, man, I’ve got a stance, I’ve got this, I’ve got this,” he said. “So, I’m over it, I’m over it, getting ready, hit the shot and next thing I know, I throw my club and I’m falling back, ball is in the water. Overall, it’s a pretty eventful start to the day on hole 2!”

He walked away with a quadruple bogey there and despite spending much of the day squelching around the course in soaking shoes and clothes, recovered for a 2-over 73 that left him only six shots back.

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5 things to know about the return of the Asia-Pacific Amateur this week in Dubai

The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship hits a little differently now that past champ Hideki Matsuyama has won the Masters.

The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship hasn’t been played since 2019 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. When it returns this week, it should resonate a little louder with players than it did in its first 11 iterations.

The goal of the championship, co-sanctioned by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, the Masters Tournament and the R&A, was always to open a pipeline from countries in the Asia-Pacific region of the world to the highest echelon of golf, namely the PGA Tour. The AAC, which awards a Masters invitation to its winner, was supposed to identify up-and-coming talent from the region and with two-time champion Hideki Matsuyama, at least, it did that. In April, Matsuyama became the first player to convert an AAC title into a Green Jacket. He also became the first player from Japan to win the Masters.

“It’s thrilling to think that there are a lot of youngsters in Japan watching today,” Matsuyama told media after winning the 2021 Masters. “Hopefully in five, ten years, when they get a little older, hopefully some of them will be competing on the world stage.”

Some might even be in this year’s AAC field. In preparation for this week’s tournament, to be played Nov. 3-6 at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club in Dubai, here are some noteworthy storylines to watch.

Curtis Luck says the Asia-Pacific Amateur, canceled for 2020, is unlike any other

Curtis Luck, a past champion of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, feels for the young amateurs who won’t get to play the event this year.

Curtis Luck was fortunate enough to have qualified for the 2017 Masters Tournament after defeating Brad Dalke in the U.S. Amateur Championship in 2016. Two months later, he claimed the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship as well.

The winner of each tournament is invited to join the ranks of the best golfers on one of the best courses in the country as an amateur. Even though he already earned his invite to Augusta, Luck still remembers his win in the AAC.

“I was fortunate to play it two times and both times, some of the most enjoyable amateur events, even events in general,” Luck said. “… That opportunity comes very rare and if you have the opportunity to play the Asian Am, I think everyone jumps on it.”

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Asia-Pacific-region amateurs won’t get the opportunity to compete in this year’s AAC and Luck, who knew he was going to turn pro following the Masters, feels for the young players that will miss out.

“It’s obviously sad with everything that’s going on that they can’t host the event safely, it’s a real shame,” Luck said. “Players and amateurs in the Pacific region, it’s such an amazing event to compete in and what an amazing opportunity to contend and potentially earn yourself a Masters spot.”

The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation announced Tuesday that it was canceling both the men’s and women’s amateur tournaments, meaning the 2021 Masters Tournament will be without a 2020 Asia-Pacific amateur champion.

Luck remembers just how important the AAC is in young players’ careers. Much like the U.S. Am Championship, Asia-Pacific amateurs qualify for the tournament based on their World Amateur Golf Ranking.

The AAC was established in 2009 with an aim to develop amateur golfers in the Asia-Pacific region. Qualifying for both the men’s and women’s amateur tournaments provides opportunities to play in larger tournaments.

Luck said his professional career wouldn’t be anything close to what it was had he not played in the AAC and had the opportunity to play in the Masters. He was grouped with Matt Kuchar and Danny Willett in 2017 and finished the week in a tie for 46th.

“You’re never sure as an amateur how ready you are to compete with the best pros in the world. Standing on a tee box on a Thursday morning and standing alongside, in my case, Matt Kuchar … It definitely told me that I was ready to turn pro,” Luck said.

This year, Yuxin Lin will compete in the 2020 Masters, which was rescheduled, tentatively, for Nov. 9-15. Lin defeated No. 1 ranked amateur and defending champion Takumi Kanaya in a playoff in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in September 2019 to qualify.

Kanaya won the 2018 championship to qualify as one of six amateurs in the 2019 Masters and was one of four to make the cut. Hideki Matsuyama and Lin are the only two players in the tournament’s history to win two AAC titles.

Though Luck is now a professional, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will always be special to him. It’s an event that even after being professional for three years, still ranks high on his list.

“It not only gives you a better opportunity to punch your way into Augusta, it’s just a fantastic event. They do such an amazing job running that event,” Luck said. “You get treated like royalty.”

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Top 10 amateur storylines of the decade: Major feats and new frontiers

The excitement in amateur golf can sometimes go overlooked. It rarely gets the headlines or the TV time that professional golf gets.

The excitement in amateur golf can sometimes go overlooked. It rarely gets the headlines or the TV time that professional golf or even college competition gets. Despite that, the stories of underdogs, comebacks, record rounds and breakthroughs are seemingly never-ending.

The following list represents the most impactful moments in the game over the past decade, from players who accomplished meaningful things to opportunities that changed the amateur landscape forever.

10. The USGA calendar gets a makeover

T.J. Vogel with the U.S. Amateur Public Links trophy in 2012.

In 2013, the USGA announced that it would do something it had never done before: Retire a championship. The following year, the U.S. Amateur Public Links and U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links were played for the final time. It was a big deal, considering that a Masters invitation was on the line for the winner of the APL. The hallmark of the Public Links championships was the opportunity they provided for the “everyman” golfer. Part of the USGA’s reasoning in ending them was the feeling that the tournaments ceased to serve their original purpose of creating opportunities for true public golfers.

The Public Links were replaced by the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball in 2015, tournaments played in the late spring that overlap the college postseason.

A side effect of the Public Links retirement that’s worth noting is that it becomes that much harder for a player to win multiple USGA titles in one season. Eun-jeong Seong was the last player to do that in 2016 when she won the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur. For five of the eight players who have won multiple USGA titles in one season, a Public Links title accounted for one of those wins.

It’s worth noting that in 2017, the USGA also retired the State Team Championship, which had been played biennially since 1995.

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