The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, the Masters Tournament and The R&A have announced that the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is to be held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia.
The AAC will return to Royal Melbourne from 26-29 October next year, nine years after the championship was hosted at the venue in 2014.
Created in 2009, the AAC was established to further develop amateur golf in the Asia-Pacific region. The champion will receive an invitation to compete in the 2024 Masters Tournament and The 152nd Open Championship, while the runner-up will gain a place in Final Qualifying for The Open.
“We are proud to announce the return of the AAC to Royal Melbourne in 2023,” said Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A. “We are committed to elevating amateur golf across the Asia-Pacific and taking this championship back to one of the world’s best courses.”
Notable past competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the AAC, and the current Open champion Cameron Smith. Collectively, past AAC players have gone on to win 23 tournaments on the PGA Tour to date and more than 100 across the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
“We are looking forward to the top talent from across the region competing at our world-class venue for the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship,” said Captain Tony Rule of Royal Melbourne. “Royal Melbourne has a long history of providing a true test of golf to the top players in the world and we look forward to continuing that tradition with the return of the AAC.”
