CT Lin and Wenyi Ding Lead Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship

CT Lin of Chinese Taipei and China’s Wenyi Ding lead the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) at Royal Melbourne Golf Club on 36-hole totals of three-under par. With conditions far more pleasant than yesterday, it was surprising that scoring wasn’t as good as in the first round. But, with greens a little firmer, the players were struggling to hold the putting surfaces.

Chuan-Tai (CT or “Teddy”) Lin shot the best of the morning rounds. The 21-year-old, who is making his fourth appearance in the AAC, carded an excellent round of 67 that featured six birdies, including one on his last hole – the tricky 8th. He was pleased to complete 36-holes on a three-under par total.

“It was definitely a good day of business,” he said. “This course, it's so hard, and definitely it's hard to shoot a really low score but I'm pretty happy with 4‑under today. Getting to the weekend is more pressure, but if you can focus on the small things well, the results are going to come.”

Teddy Lin was matched on a three-under halfway score by China’s Wenyi Ding. He followed a first round 69 with a solid 70 on day two. Ding’s steady round on Friday contained four birdies and just three bogeys.

First round leader Kamuza Kobori of New Zealand found the going a lot tougher than he did on day one, when he cruised round in an error-free 66. At time of writing, he is one-under-par with one hole to play, four over for his round.

Kobori is matched on one-under by three players - Randy Arbenata Mohamad Bintang of Indonesia, Jimmy Zheng of New Zealand, and Australia's Billy Dowling.

With players still on the course, the cut looks likely to fall at 12-over-par. The top-60 (and ties) make the weekend. That figure demonstrates the challenge facing the players this week.

The winner of the AAC earns a place in both The Open Championship and The Masters Tournament plus an exemption for The Amateur Championship, the runner up or runners up gain a place in The Open Qualifying Series. 

The AAC was founded in 2009, a joint venture between The R&A, The Masters Tournament and the Asia Pacific Golf Federation. The event has played a significant role in growing the game in the region and around the world. 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama is a two-time former champion and 2022 Open champion Cam Smith is an alumni of the event. Following the success of the early instalments of the AAC, further elite international amateur tournaments have been founded, including the Latin America Amateur Championship and the Women’s Asia Pacific Championship. The R&A announced earlier this year that the inaugural Africa Amateur Championship will take place in South Africa next February.

It was announced yesterday morning that the 15th AAC will take place at Taiheiyo Club’s Gotemba Course in Japan. The 14th Asia Pacific Amateur Championship is being contested over 72 holes at Royal Melbourne, culminating on Sunday.