By Matt Smith
After a decade-long absence, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) will return to Amata Springs Country Club in Thailand.

The 13th edition of the AAC will be held at the Chonburi venue from October 27-30, the R&A has announced.

This will be the first time since 2012 that Amata will host the competition, with last year’s tournament being held at Dubai Creek Golf Club in the UAE, in collaboration with the Emirates Golf Federation.

Created in 2009, the AAC was established to further develop amateur golf in the Asia-Pacific region. The champion will receive an invitation to compete in the 2023 US Masters and 151st Open Championship, while the runner(s)-up will gain a place in final qualifying for The Open.

“We look forward to bringing the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship back to Amata and gathering the region’s top players at this exceptional venue once again,” said Taimur Amin, Chairman of the Asian Pacific Golf Confederation, Fred Ridley, Chairman of the Masters Tournament, and Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, in a joint statement.

“This year will be a special opportunity to build on the growth we’ve seen in amateur golf over the last 10 years since the event was last held in Thailand. We are grateful to our hosts in the region as we work together to promote the game’s development and provide pathways for talented amateurs across the Asia-Pacific.”

Notable past competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the AAC, and Cameron Smith, who won The Players in March and is currently the fourth-ranked player in the world. Collectively, AAC alumni have gone on to win 21 tournaments on the PGA Tour to date.

“We are thrilled to once again host the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship,” said Andrew Yau, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amata Spring Country Club. “Amata Spring is excited to present a challenging test for the best amateur golfers across the Asia-Pacific region.”

The 13th @AAC_golf will return to Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, Thailand, October 27-30, 2022.

Read more ? https://t.co/FBWnpj9DJs pic.twitter.com/pXyGqbLKCj

— Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (@AAC_Golf) May 11, 2022

Amata Spring Country Club was designed by Lee Schmidt and established in 2005. In addition to previously hosting the AAC in 2012, the course has provided the backdrop for prestigious events such as the LPGA Thailand, the Thailand Golf Championship and the Royal Trophy team event.

“Hosting the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is a unique opportunity to support the game of golf in Thailand as the talent in our country continues to grow,” said Rungsrid Luxsitanonda, president of the Thailand Golf Association. “We are proud to invite the top amateurs from across the region back to Thailand and Amata Spring and look forward to another exciting edition of the AAC.”

Over the AAC’s 13-year history, the Championship has served as a springboard to some of the world’s top players, including future PGA Tour winners Matsuyama, CT Pan, Smith, Cameron Davis, Lucas Herbert, Si Woo Kim, Satoshi Kodaira and Kyoung-Hoon Lee.

Last November at the Dubai Creek, Japan’s Keita Nakajima came out on top, and Dubai’s own Rayhan Thomas was runner up to Takumi Kanaya in the 2018 edition.

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The post Following on from Dubai Creek success, Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship returns to Amata Springs appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
Our definition of the word “sleeper” has changed through the years—this year, we’re going with any golfer younger than 30 who hasn’t won a PGA Tour event or qualified for the Tour Championship—but our penchant for picking guys before they truly breakout as stars hasn’t. OK, so there have been plenty of whiffs along the way, and some of our past picks (like Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau) were no-brainers. But there also have been others like Jimmy Walker in 2013 and Aaron Wise last year who have made us look good (Thanks, guys). Anyway, here’s who we’re predicting (in no particular order) to have big seasons in 2018-’19.

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Beau Hossler

Tim Bradbury

It almost feels like cheating to include Beau on this list for a second consecutive year, but technically, he still meets our criteria. However, no one mentioned here came as close to a PGA Tour title as Hossler, who basically had a victory stolen from him at the Houston Open by Ian Poulter. But for a young man who putts this well (Hossler finished fourth on tour in strokes gained/putting as a rookie), there will be plenty more opportunities.

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Joaquin Niemann

Minas Panagiotakis

It took this 19-year-old Chilean just five starts this past summer to earn a special temporary membership on the PGA Tour. Then he needed only three more to lock up full playing privileges for this coming season. Niemann is both the youngest golfer on this list (he turns 20 in November) and the one who most screams future superstar.

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Sam Burns

David Cannon/Getty Images

Golf fans got their first good look at this former LSU star when he outplayed Tiger Woods in the final round of the 2018 Honda Classic. The resulting T-8 was one of several successful PGA Tour cameos, but he spent most of his time this past year finishing fourth on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list. With full PGA Tour playing privileges for the first time, expect to see the 22-year-old for college golfer of the year in more late-Sunday pairings this season.

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Cameron Champ

Matt Sullivan

What a name, what a talent. Able to produce ball speeds of more than 190 miles per hour, Champ arguably will be the longest hitter on the PGA Tour as a rookie. But he’s not just a bomber. While averaging 391 yards (Yes, 391 yards) off the tee during the Web.com Tour’s Utah Championship, Champ, 23, also hit two-thirds of the fairways on his way to picking up his first pro win. Previously, this Sean Foley student drew notoriety as an amateur when he was T-8 through two rounds at the 2017 U.S. Open. With his jaw-dropping power, Champ should be an instant fan favorite on the PGA Tour.

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Cameron Davis

Michael Cohen

Another long-hitting Cameron, this 23-year-old Aussie was eighth on the Web.com Tour in driving distance (320.5), third in putting average and second in birdie average. His rookie season on the developmental tour also included a Nashville Open win and finishing sixth on the Web.com Tour Finals money list. But his biggest win came in his home country at the 2017 Australian Open.

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Sungjae Im

Steve Dykes

The South Korean native won the opening event of the 2018 Web.com Tour season and never relinquished the top spot on the money list, capping his fantastic year with a second win at the regular-season finale. In addition to that pair of four-shot victories, Im also had three runner-ups to earn a whopping $534,326. Again, that’s on the Web.com Tour. Yeah, we’d be flashing a thumbs-up as well. Making Im’s accomplishment even more impressive is that he turned 20 in March and is the second-youngest player on this list to Joaquin Niemann.

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Abraham Ancer

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

The surprise 54-hole leader at the Dell Technologies Championship in the FedEx Cup Playoffs should become a more familiar name on the leader board following a second PGA Tour season in which he finished strong. Even with a disappointing Monday in Boston, Ancer’s T-7 was one of three top-10s over his final eight starts thanks in large part to his improved driving. The 27-year-old Mexican is only listed at 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, but he has plenty of pop as evidenced by ranking 41st in strokes gained/off-the-tee.

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Julian Suri

Warren Little/Getty Images

A European Tour winner in 2017, Suri played a split schedule in 2018, but managed to make nine cuts in the 10 PGA Tour starts he made. A T-8 at the Houston Open was his best result in the U.S., but he also finished T-19 at the PGA Championship. Since Suri, 27, didn’t finish in the top 25 of Web.com Tour Finals (35th), he’ll play on multiple tours again, but that won’t keep him from capitalizing on PGA Tour opportunities. And it hasn’t kept him from earning one of the tour’s most unique partnerships, a sponsorship deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Like that franchise, Suri’s stock is on the rise.

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Denny McCarthy

Michael Cohen

A former Junior Ryder Cupper with Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. A former Walker Cupper with Bryson DeChambeau and Beau Hossler. McCarthy, 25, will get a second full season playing against his old teammates on the PGA Tour after winning the Web.com Tour Championship in dominant fashion. Considering how well he played with his job on the line, we’re guessing his second go-round in the big leagues produces more than four top-25s and one top-10.

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Kramer Hickok

Michael Cohen

Just when that whole Jordan Spieth-Justin Thomas best buddy narrative was dying down, golf fans will undoubtedly get sick of hearing about Hickok, 26, being a former roommate of Spieth’s after he graduated from the University of Texas. That’s where the two also played together on the golf team before Spieth put down the books and started picking up major trophies. Now this geography major might just find his way to a PGA Tour winner’s circle as well after finishing second on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list in 2018.

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C.T. Pan

Kevin C. Cox

Pan, 26, nearly made himself ineligible for this list with a win at the PGA Tour regular-season finale in Greensboro, but was undone by a disastrous double bogey on the 72nd hole that dropped him to T-2. He added a T-4 at the Dell Technologies Championship and finished 35th in the FedEx Cup standings, nearly qualifying for the Tour Championship. A former World No. 1 amateur during his time at the University of Washington, Pan certainly has the pedigree to be a star. He just might want to work on being more complimentary of his wife when she fills in as his caddie …

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The post 11 PGA Tour sleepers to watch for in the 2018-’19 season appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.