Jasper Stubbs Of Australia Wins Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship

Jasper Stubbs came through a three-way playoff for the 14th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC,) at Royal Melbourne beating Wenyi Ding on the second extra hole.

As the winner of the AAC, Stubbs earns a place in both The Open Championship and The Masters Tournament plus an exemption for The Amateur Championship, runner-up Ding gains a place in The Open Qualifying Series.

“I made sure I believed that I could win as there’s always a chance around this golf course,” he said. “I’m a bit lost for words. It’s life changing to play in The Masters and The Open. It was amazing to tap in for the win and make that a reality.”

Sampson Zheng carried a four-shot lead into the final round of the AAC but struggled on day four, carding a four-over-par round of 75. He bogeyed the 71st hole to drop back to one-over for the tournament and did well to save par from a greenside bunker on the last and make the playoff.

21-year-old Jasper Stubbs was five-over for the tournament after six holes of the last round but he made four birdies in his last 12 to score 69 and post a one-over total and finish in a tie at the top of the board.

China’s Wenyi Ding, just 18, also got to one-over after a final round of 70.

The trio headed back to the 18th hole to decide the fate of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in a sudden-death playoff. On a hole that had not seen a birdie all day, Jasper Stubbs rolled in a breaking 25 footer for birdie and then Wenyi Ding followed him in. Those two exceptional birdies meant Sampson Zheng was out of the equation.

“Today was a tough round – I made a few bad decisions,” he said. “I got myself into the playoff and gave myself a look. No regrets.”

On the second extra hole, Stubbs went through the back of the green in two while Ding’s approach found sand. Stubbs putted close and Ding missed for par. Stubbs was the champion. He was the first man to tee off on Thursday and the last man to putt out on Sunday. A local player, it was a thrilling victory for the Australian.

“I couldn’t believe I made that birdie on the first extra hole,” he said. “But then Wenyi followed it so I had to re-set and go again.”

CT Lin of Chinese Taipei played an excellent final round of 69 to finish the tournament on a four-round total of two-over-par. He was matched on that number by Australia’s Max Charles in a tie for fourth.

First round leader Kazuma Kobori of New Zealand eagled the 71st hole and climbed into solo sixth place.

Anh Minh Nguyen, a 16-year-old from Vietnam fired an excellent back nine of 31 to post a closing 70 and end the week on six-over-par in a tie for seventh place with Marcus Lim of Malaysia.

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 on Thursday 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.