AAC-Winning Quartet Bidding for Royal Liverpool Success

Hoylake, Liverpool, England: Four Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) winners will be vying for glory when the 151st Open Championship tees-off at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on Thursday.

Joining 2022 AAC champion Harrison Crowe of Australia in the starting line-up for the final Major of the year are the Japanese trio of Hideki Matsuyama, Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima.

Among other high-profile AAC alumni in the field at Hoylake are Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho, runner-up to Nakajima in the 2021 AAC, and Australian Cameron Smith, who was crowned Champion Golfer of the Year at St Andrews last year.

While Crowe has his sights set on winning the Silver Medal as the Low Amateur, Matsuyama, Kanaya and Nakajima are dreaming of etching their names into golf’s history books as the first Japanese to hoist aloft the Claret Jug.

Victorious in the AAC in 2010 and 2011, Matsuyama became the first Japanese winner of the Masters Tournament in 2021. Now he’s aiming to add The Open to his list of notable victories.

This is Matsuyama’s ninth appearance in The Open. Along with three missed cuts there have been three top-20s with a best of joint sixth in 2013 and a tie for 39th spot the last time The Open visited Royal Liverpool in 2014.

Although neither Kanaya nor Matsuyama have made the half-way cut in The Open, both have cause for optimism following impressive starts to their 2023 campaigns.

Kanaya, AAC winner in Singapore in 2018, has failed to progress to the weekend on all three previous appearances at The Open.

But he’s a far more confident individual now, having won twice this year (International Series Oman and BMW Japan Tour Championship) and risen more than 30 places to 121st in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

Nakajima, who missed the cut on his Open debut at St Andrews last year, also has a spring in his step after an exceptional run of form on the Japan Tour. During a five-week period commencing in late May he won once, had three runner-up finishes and a tie for third.

On the back of those displays he’s soared to 151st in the OWGR, up from 313th at the end of 2022.

“This is my second appearance at the Open, and my first as a professional. As a professional golfer, I hope to make it through all four rounds and finish with a good result. I'm well prepared with two weeks off, so I'll do my best to put out a good performance,” said Nakajima.

Crowe, triumphant in the AAC at Thailand’s Amata Spring Country Club late last year, is also in relaxed mood.

“I feel pretty good, it’s kind of hard not to out here. It feels like a privilege to be out here and I’m trying not to focus on who is here so much. I’m trying to focus on it being another round of golf and hopefully I can play four of them,” said Crowe, who will represent the Asia-Pacific in next month’s Ryder Cup-style Bonallack Trophy against Europe in Spain.

He added: “I was here last month and had a couple of practice rounds. It’s beautiful, super tough and I’m glad I’ve seen it with its teeth out this week in tougher conditions. It will be a grind out there and I’m excited to get going. For links greens, you don’t usually see them so fast as they are.

“Everything out here is awesome and the set-up is incredible. I feel a bit more comfortable having played at Augusta (for the Masters Tournament) and it’s great to get another Major in the books.”