UAE duo Rayan Ahmed and Abdulla Kalbat have both accepted invitations to compete in the prestigious Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, which will be held October 3-6, 2024, at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba in Gotemba, Japan.
Created in 2009, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship was established by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), The R&A and the Masters Tournament to further develop amateur golf in the Asia-Pacific region.
The champion will receive an invitation to compete in the 2025 Masters Tournament and The 153rd Open, while the runner(s)-up will gain a place in Final Qualifying for The Open.
Kalbat is currently the highest ranked player from the UAE on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) in 529th. He became the youngest Emirati to earn ranking, when just 16 years old, with victory at at the Junior Masters Golf Tour at The Track, Medyan earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Ahmed has been one of the standout stars for the UAE since representing the country last year. The 17-year-old secured both the Individual Gold and Team Gold at the GCC Golf Championship in Qatar in March, before narrowly missing the cut at the Abu Dhabi Challenge on his Challenge Tour debut after carding an impressive first round four under par 66.
Since then, he has won the inaugural GCC Youth Games and featured in both the US Junior Amateur Championship and US Amateur Championship, becoming the first player from the UAE to play in the latter two events.
Players from 38 APGC member organizations have accepted invitations with 113 players confirmed thus far for the 120-player field.
The field is highlighted by defending champion Jasper Stubbs of Australia and four players representing China inside the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking: Wenyi Ding (No. 4), Xihuan Chang (No. 36), Xiangyun Bai (No. 61) and Paul Chang (No. 97).
"Winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur and being able to compete at two major championships has made this year very special. I cannot wait to return and defend my title in Japan" said Stubbs.
Notable past competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith.
As the host nation, Japan will lead the list of up to 43 APGC member nations represented with 10 players in this year’s field. A player from Japan has won four of the 14 editions of the Championship (Matsuyama/2010, 2011; Takumi Kanaya/2018; Nakajima/2021).
Designed in 1977 by Shunsuke Kato, Taiheiyo Club Gotemba underwent a renovation in 2018 overseen by Rees Jones with consultation from Hideki Matsuyama. The hillside course, situated 100 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, features views of Mount Fuji.
The flagship of Taiheiyo Club’s 18 golf courses, Gotemba has hosted a number of international events, including the Taiheiyo Masters, the ISPS HANDA Championship and the 2001 World Cup of Golf won by South Africa’s Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.
