Augusta National and R&A delighted with Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship
Founding partners say the tournament has surpassed expecations, with South Korea and New Zealand hosting the next two events
Guan Tianlang’s victory at the 2012 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship has inspired a generation of Chinese golfers to take up the sport - exactly what the tournament’s founding partners wanted.
David Cherry, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Golf Federation (APGF), said the tournament has far exceeded expectations since it was launched in 2009.
“The excitement in Asia-Pacific countries is overwhelming with respect to young players wanting to take up the game so they can play in this event and the tremendous rewards it offers,” said Cherry.
“In my wildest dreams I didn’t expect this - a 13 year old from China [Guan] winning? It is an inspiration to countries where golf is not even on the radar as a major sport
“In my wildest dreams I didn’t expect this - a 13 year old from China [Guan] winning? And golf is reasonably new there. It is an inspiration to countries where golf is not even on the radar as a major sport.”
The tournament is a partnership between the APGF, Augusta National Golf Club and R&A - among the most influential bodies in world golf. The winner of the event earns an invitation to play at the US Masters in August and in the British Open qualifiers.
Augusta and US Masters chairman Billy Payne said: “We started with a certain motivation to expose a new generation of golfers in the Asia-Pacific region to this wonderful game and you do it simply by creating heroes.