Andy DevaneyThe road to Augusta National is taking a rather scenic detour. Vietnam will host the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship for the first time in 2027, with Hoiana Shores confirmed as the venue from 28–31 October, before New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney takes over from 2–5 November 2028.
Both courses will welcome the championship for the first time, although Australia has previous experience of staging the event, having hosted the 2014 and 2023 editions at Royal Melbourne.
For the region’s leading male amateur golfers, these are rather more than attractive additions to the tournament calendar. Victory brings an invitation to the Masters Tournament and an exemption into The Open the following year.
Vietnam’s First Asia-Pacific Amateur Comes With a Coastal Twist
Hoiana Shores is not a golf course that does things entirely by convention. For starters, traditional pin flags have been replaced by red basket lanterns, a nod to nearby Hội An, the UNESCO World Heritage Site affectionately known as the City of Lanterns.
Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and opened in 2019, the par-71 links-style course stretches along more than two kilometres of beachfront dunes, overlooking the South China Sea and the Cham Islands.
The venue has already demonstrated its credentials on the amateur stage, hosting the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in 2025. It was also recognised as the world’s best new golf course at the 2020 World Golf Awards.
Now it has been entrusted with the men’s championship’s 18th edition, marking another significant occasion for Vietnamese golf.
Wee Peng Siong, Vice President, Golf, of Hoiana Shores, said:
“Golf in Vietnam is on the rise, and we are honored to serve as host for the first time this Championship is held in Vietnam. Our beautiful links-style venue will be a perfect test for the best amateurs from here in Vietnam and across the Asia-Pacific region.”
New South Wales Golf Club Brings MacKenzie’s Design to the Party
If Vietnam offers a new destination for the championship, Sydney provides a course with considerably more history behind it.
New South Wales Golf Club was originally designed around a century ago by Alister MacKenzie, whose architectural CV also includes co-designing Augusta National Golf Club.
Overlooking Botany Bay, the course combines rugged coastal terrain, links-style characteristics and ocean views. Its par-3 sixth hole is particularly distinctive, requiring a tee shot from Cape Banks across a rocky stretch of coastline.
It is the sort of hole that should make for compelling viewing when the championship arrives in November 2028.
New South Wales also has an established tournament pedigree, having hosted several professional events, including the 2009 Australian Open, won by Adam Scott.
Chris Coudounaris, President of New South Wales Golf Club, said: “The dramatic coastal views, together with a course that is both strategic and unique, will provide an exceptional test and backdrop for the top players from across the region and will undoubtedly produce a deserving champion.”
More Than a Trophy at Stake
Established by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, the Masters Tournament and The R&A, the championship brings together leading male amateurs from across the APGC’s 43 affiliated organisations.
The rewards explain why the event carries such weight.
The champion receives an invitation to compete in the following year’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National, alongside an exemption into The Open. The runner-up or runners-up also secure places in Final Qualifying for The Open.
And there is plenty of evidence that the championship can provide a route towards a successful professional career.
Hideki Matsuyama won the Asia-Pacific Amateur twice before claiming the 2021 Masters title. Other notable former competitors include Open champion Cameron Smith, Japanese stars Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima, Australia’s Min Woo Lee and Cameron Davis, and Si Woo Kim of the Republic of Korea.
According to the championship organisers, former participants have collectively recorded 34 PGA Tour victories and more than 180 wins across major professional tours.
Mark Darbon, Chief Executive of The R&A, welcomed the choice of venues on behalf of the founding partners:
“We are very much looking forward to taking the championship to Vietnam for the first time and enjoying one of the world’s great emerging golf destinations. We are also thrilled to be returning to Australia and visiting such a renowned championship venue as New South Wales for the first time.”
The Championship’s Next Chapter
The 2026 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, its 17th edition, is taking place at Te Arai Links in New Zealand, with live scoring and tournament information available at AACGolf.com.
Beyond that, attention turns to two contrasting venues united by their coastal settings and the considerable prize awaiting the winner.
For the champions crowned in Vietnam and Sydney, the journey to Augusta and The Open will begin beside the South China Sea or Botany Bay. Not a bad place to start.
