By Chuah Choo Chiang
A new generation of regional golfers, including India’s Rakshit Dahiya and Anshul Mishra, is in Dubai this week, chasing dreams first stirred by the heroics and brilliance of Hideki Matsuyama.
The 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, which begins on Thursday, will bring together 120 of the brightest young talents as they embark on a path first cleared by Matsuyama, whose teenage breakthrough at the same Championship became the launchpad to the coveted Masters Tournament title.
View this post on Instagram
The Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course, which is set against the gleaming Dubai skyline, will host the region’s premier amateur men’s Championship where at stake is not only the desired silverware, but golf’s two golden tickets – an invitation to the 2026 Masters Tournament and an exemption into The Open Championship.
No figure looms larger over the Asia-Pacific Amateur than Matsuyama, who is now regarded as the greatest male golfer Asia has produced. A two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, the 32-year-old parlayed his 2010 victory into a trophy-laden professional career that now boasts 11 PGA Tour victories and, most memorably, the 2021 Masters, where he became the first Asian man to slip on the famous Green Jacket.
“Winning the 2010 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship gave me the opportunity to play in the Masters Tournament,” Matsuyama recalled. “Making the cut that week helped me realise I could actually have a career playing golf,” said Matsuyama.
View this post on Instagram
“I owe a great debt of gratitude to Augusta National and will be eternally grateful for the opportunity to play in the Masters and helping me reach my dream to play professional golf. Winning the 2010 AAC was life-changing for me.”
Rising amateur such as Japan’s Rintaro Nakano, China’s Zhou Ziqin and Seonghyeon An of Korea will start amongst the top contenders while the likes of Indonesia’s Rayhan Latief, Malaysia’s Anson Yeo, Thailand’s Ratchanon T.K. Chantananuwat, Chris Remata of the Philippines and Singapore’s Justin Kuk will strive to produce the week of their lives to challenge for the Asia-Pacific Amateur title. Since its inception in 2009, players from four countries, Korea, China, Japan and Australia, have won the Championship.
India’s hopes will rest squarely on the shoulders of the 18-year-old Dahiya, who is the highest ranked golfer from the country on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Dahiya featured in the 2024 edition in Japan, finishing T37, and hold six amateur wins which awarded world ranking points. In the history of the Championship, the best finisher by an Indian was by Rayhan Thomas who finished tied second in 2018.
View this post on Instagram
Japan’s Rintaro Nakano, who will make his third start, hopes to follow in Matsuyama’s footsteps, and also of Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima who won the Asia-Pacific Amateur in 2018 and 2021 respectively. After finishing third at Taiheiyo Club in Gotemba last year and T28 at Royal Melbourne in 2023, the 21-year-old is fired up. “I think this will be my last AAC, so I want to enjoy it. Of course, I have winning in mind, and I want to play with my full effort while appreciating this tournament that has helped me grow,” said Nakano, who was the 36-hole leader before finishing two strokes behind champion Ding Wenyi of China last year.
Nakano added the Asia-Pacific Amateur has pushed him to become better in the sport where his ambition includes winning major championships. “I felt the high level of Asian golf during my first AAC in Australia, and last year, I was able to compete for the win. I watch (Hideki’s) golf swing a lot, and he is a role model to me,” he said.
China’s Zhou Ziqin, 19, will look to improve on last season’s runner-up outing as he underscores his growing potential. “The Asia-Pacific Amateur has provided players in the region with an excellent tournament experience,” said Zhou. “Now, I’ve matured a bit more both physically and mentally, and I’ve also made technical improvements. I hope to be in good condition as last year. My biggest goal is, of course, to win,” added the University of California, Berkeley student.
View this post on Instagram
Over the years, Chinese golfers have enjoyed winning runs, with Guan Tianlang (2012), Cheng Jin (2015) and Lin Yuxin (2017, 2019) tasting victory and enjoying appearances at the Masters. Guan has inspired many as well through his history-making feat when he became the youngest to make the halfway cut at the Masters in 2013 at the age of 14 years, 5 months, earning the admiration of golf legend, Tiger Woods.
“It’s frightening to think that he (Guan) was born after I won my first Masters. It’s exciting that I have inspired kids to play and not just here in the States but obviously in China and around the world,” said Woods, a five-time Masters champion.
The writer previously work for the PGA Tour and Asian Tour for over 20 years, leading the communications team in Asia-Pacific and now runs his own PR consulting firm in Malaysia.
