Melbourne, Australia: The 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), organised by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A, will continue the event’s extensive broadcast coverage around the world.
Fans in seven continents will be able to tune in to the 14th edition of the championship, to be held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club from October 26-29.
The AAC, which aims to further develop golf in the Asia-Pacific region, is the most widely distributed amateur golf event across the world. The championship’s high-definition broadcast includes three hours of live coverage on each of the four competition days.
Fox Sports Australia will provide event coverage in this year’s host country of Australia. Other broadcasters include iQIYI (China), SBS Sports (Korea), Tokyo Broadcasting System (Japan), SPOTV (Pan-Asia), Sky Sports (United Kingdom), ESPN (United States and Latin America), SuperSport (Southern Africa), TSN (Canada) and Warner Bros. Discovery (Europe).
Coverage begins at 4 pm local time on both Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27. Weekend coverage will air from 1 pm to 4 pm local time on Saturday, October 28 and 2 pm to 5 pm local time on Sunday, October 29.
Coverage in the United States will be on a tape delay and all coverage will be simulcast live on AACGolf.com, which will also feature unique video and editorial content throughout the championship.
A 30-minute wrap-up show will also be produced following the conclusion of the final round. The English-speaking commentary team will include Rich Lerner as host, Frank Nobilo as analyst, Paul Gow and Colt Knost as on-course reporters, and Amanda Renner handling interviews.
A full field of 120 amateurs from 40 countries will vie for the prestigious title, which provides an invitation to the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and exemptions into The 152nd Open at Royal Troon and the 129th Amateur Championship, provided the champion retains his amateur status. The runner(s)-up will earn a spot into The Open Qualifying Series with the opportunity to earn a place in The 152nd Open.
Leading this year’s field, which is comprised of the top men’s amateurs in the region, is Japan’s Yuta Sugiura, who is 16th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Other top-ranked competitors include China’s Ding Wenyi (19th), New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori (33rd) and Sampson Zheng Yunhe from China (41st).
China’s Bo Jin (136th), last year’s runner-up and the brother of 2015 champion Cheng Jin, will also return after finishing one stroke behind 2022 champion Harrison Crowe of Australia, who has now turned pro.
The AAC was created in 2009 as a joint initiative between the APGC, the Masters Tournament and The R&A.
Alumni have accounted for more than 120 victories across the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour and include notables such as two-time champion Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith, Kim Si-woo, Ryan Fox, KH Lee, Cameron Davis, Min Woo Lee, Lucas Herbert, CT Pan, Takumi Kanaya, Keita Nakajima and Taichi Kho, winner of the individual gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games a fortnight ago.
The championship is returning for the second time to Australia, which hosted the sixth edition of the championship in 2014 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
