The reward that annually awaits the winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur—specifically a spot in the Masters and The Open—is always, well, rewarding. But the way the golf calendar falls in 2027, the winner of the 17th edition of the championship doesn’t just get to compete at Augusta National next April but also on the Old Course at St. Andrews in July. We call this big gulp stuff … as in gasping for a big gulp of air coming down the stretch in the final round with so much on the line.
A field of 120 players from 39 countries will be competing this week in New Zealand on the South course at Te Arai Links, including 53 first-time participants. The Bill Course/Ben Crenshaw par-71 design, listed at 6,842 yards, is hosting the event for its first time as well. The 17-hour time difference between New Zealand and Eastern Daylight time means some nice evening viewing for Americans, many of whom will be seeing the majestic course (ranked 42nd on Golf Digest’s World’s 100 Greatest courses) for the first time.
To get you prepared for all the action, here are five things you need to know about this week’s Asia-Pacific Amateur.
Repeat after him
Just once has the winner of the Asia-Pacific Am successfully defended his title, Hideki Matsuyama doing so in 2010 and 2011. If Thailand’s Fifa Laopakdee is to become the second, he’s going to have to feed off memories from a year ago, where be rallied from a six-stroke deficit in the final round to defeat Japan’s Taisei Nagasaki in a playoff to claim the title. A 21-year-old senior at Arizona State, Laopakdee has played just one stroke play event this fall, but nobody knows the “big gulp” factor better than Laopakdee, who’s victory allowed him to become the first Thai amateur to compete at the Masters.
Augusta National
Looking for redemption
Conversely, Taisei Nagasaki’s memories of last year’s final round at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai aren’t quite as positive. The then 16-year-old set the 54-hole scoring record in the championship at 17 under par, only to post a final-round 74 to let Laopakdee into a playoff. Disappointingly, Nagasaki missed a five-foot birdie on the last hole to win in regulation. But the way be comported himself afterward was impressive under the circumstances.
His finish could well serve as motivation. He recently won the Japan Junior and played on the International team at the Junior Presidents Cup.
Local boys
Golfers representing five countries have won the Asia-Pacific Am title since its first playing in 2009: Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. This year, a sixth could come in the form of the host nation, New Zealand, which has nine players total competing and two of the top seven ranked players in the field according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Zack Swanwick (No. 23) is a 20-year-old junior at Florida who was runner-up this summer at the Southern Amateur and reached the round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur at Merion in August. A year ago, he reached the semifinals in the Western Amateur. He’s had one previous start in the APAC (T-12 in 2023 at Royal Melbourne) and is the second highest ranked player competing this week.
“It’s a good feeling. It’s good to know that I am ranked up there, but at the end of the day, I know this is golf. I can only control what I can control,” says Swanwick about his ranking and playing at home. “I have got my coach [Andrew Henare] on the bag, and he’s from Napier, my home course. So, I just want to play the best golf and have fun.”
Despite being only 20, Joshua Bai (WAGR No. 66) has loads of experience in this event, having never missed the cut in four previous starts. He also plays college golf at Florida, won the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2 this summer and reached the Round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur.
Bai has played the course on various occasions and believes being from the area will provide some intangibles for him
“I think another factor is the wind, the kind we grew up playing in, like these stronger winds and this temperature, too, and the altitude and everything and how the ball flies,” Bai said. “So it's definitely an advantage”.
Late evening viewing
ESPN will have live coverage of all four rounds from New Zealand, airing from 9 p.m. to 12 midnight (EDT) Wednesday through Saturday on ESPN2. The broadcast also will be streaming on ESPN+ and AACgolf.com.
Come for the golf, stay for the course
With 16 of the 18 holes offering ocean views of the Pacific, Te Arai Links’ beauty is undeniable. As this will be the first time many will have gotten a look at the links-style course, which opened in 2022, the TV broadcast will try to capture the splendor. On the fifth hole, TV towers will be placed short of the green to show approach shots with full view of the ocean behind the hole’s infinity green. And an 150-foot aerial crane has been installed to provide overhead coverage of the 11th hole, which heads toward the water, and the closing three holes, which run perpendicularly along the ocean.
Nick Wall
Ricky Robinson
Gary Lisbon/Courtesy of the club
Ricky Robinson/Courtesy of the club
Ricky Robinson
Ricky Robinson
Ricky Robinson/Courtesy of the club
Courtesy of the club
• • •
Top players (via World Amateur Golf Ranking)
Harry Takis, Australia, 21
Zack Swanwick, New Zealand, 23
Fifa Laopakdee, Thailand, 30
Josh Duangmanee, Thailand, 48
Ziqin Zhou, China, 55
Taishi Moto, Japan, 65
Joshua Bai, New Zealand, 66
Jaden Dumdumaya, Philippines, 67
Past champions
2009: Changwon Han, South Korea
2010: Hideki Matsuyama, Japan
2011: Hideki Matsuyama, Japan
2012: Tianlang Guan, China
2013: Changwoo Lee, South Korea
2014: Antonio Murdaca, Austrlia
2015: Cheng Jin, China
2016: Curtis Luck, Australia
2017: Yuxin Lin, China
2018: Takumi Kanaya, Japan
2019: Yuxin Lin, China
2020: Cancelled, COVID-19
2021: Keita Nakajima, Japan
2022: Harrison Crowe, Australia
2023: Jasper Stubbs, Australia
2024: Wenyi Ding, China
2025: Fifa Laopakdee, Thailand