Royal Melbourne Golf Club to Host 2014 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship

Royal Melbourne Golf Club has been confirmed as the host venue for the 2014 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, cheap ed organisers announced before this week’s fourth staging of the prestigious championship in Thailand.

The 2013 event will be held at Nanshan International Golf Club in Shandong province, order China. The inaugural championship in 2009 was held in China before the event moved to Japan in 2010 and Singapore last year.

The annual event is organised by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A, and offers the winner an invitation to the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. The champion and runner(s)-up earn spots in International Final Qualifying (IFQ) for The Open Championship.

The 2014 event will mark the first time the championship has been held in Australia. Royal Melbourne has hosted many major events including this year’s Women’s Australian Open, the Presidents Cup match between USA and the Internationals in 1998 and last year, and the World Cup in 1959 and 1970.

“Australia will be an exciting new destination for the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship,” said Kwangsoo Hur, President of the APGC. “Royal Melbourne is one of Australia’s and the world’s most famous golf clubs, so we look forward to continuing to work with the club and Golf Australia on what will be a spectacular week.”

John Hopkins, Chairman of Golf Australia, commented: “The 2014 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will mark a new chapter for the event as it visits our region for the first time,” Hopkins said. “Australia has a proud history of hosting amateur and professional events, and Australians will come out in force to watch the top golfers from all across the Asia-Pacific region. The players can be assured of playing at one of the country’s best and most famous golf clubs.”

The sixth Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will be held over the Composite Course, which features 12 holes from the West Course and six from the East Course, a layout developed for the 1959 World Cup.

Richard Allen, Captain of Royal Melbourne Golf Club, said: “Royal Melbourne has great experience of hosting tournaments, from club competitions to the world’s top tournaments featuring the biggest stars in the game. We’re proud to host the 2014 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and would like to extend an early warm welcome to players, staff and officials for what will be a special week.”

This week’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will feature 120 players from the APGC’s 36 member associations. Television coverage will include two hours of live broadcast on each of the four days and a 30-minute highlights show, and will be aired in more than 150 countries, confirming it as the world’s most televised amateur golf tournament.