Historic First as APGC Juniors Tee-Off at Royal Colombo

Colombo, Sri Lanka: A notable slice of golfing history will be made this week when Royal Colombo Golf Club plays host to the 2026 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Junior Championships.

Featuring a sprinkling of the world’s most exciting young golfing prospects, this will be the first time that Sri Lanka has staged an APGC event.

Nick Shan, the APGC’s General Manager, said: “It’s always exciting for the APGC to take our events to countries that haven’t previously acted as host to our championships. We’re delighted to be in Colombo this week and thank the Royal Colombo Golf Club and the Sri Lankan Golf Union for their enthusiasm, support and warm welcome.”

Another first for the championship is that there will be a four-hour live broadcast on domestic television on all four days of the tournament.

Among those who will be watching with pride from behind the ropes is Mahela Jayawardena, one of Sri Lanka’s greatest cricketers who is the current captain at Royal Colombo.

Established in 1879, the Royal Colombo Golf Club is located in Sri Lanka’s capital city and is the oldest golfing establishment in the country. It is home to the Sri Lanka Golf Union, the country’s governing body of golf.

Jayawardena said: “For 147 years, the Royal Colombo Golf Club has stood as a proud symbol of tradition, excellence, and camaraderie. Generations of members have shaped not only the character of this club, but also the spirit in which the game is played – grounded in integrity, respect, and a shared passion for golf. 

“We also warmly welcome those who engage with our club as visitors, and who contribute to the wider appreciation of the game and our heritage.

“As we approach our landmark 150th anniversary, our ambition is clear: to position Royal Colombo among the finest ‘Royal’ golf courses in the world.”

On the course this week, 64 players from 15 countries and territories will be gunning for glory in the event that features individual and team categories for boys and girls.

Since its inauguration in 2015, the APGC Junior Championships have announced the potential of many future stars. Among the notables who participated during their formative golfing years are Japanese Keita Nakajima, Ryo Hisatsune, Yuka Yasuda, Nasa Hataoka and Tsubasa Kajitani, Australians Harrison Crowe and Grace Kim, Thailand’s Denwit Boriboonsub and Natthakritta Vongtaveelap and China’s Yin Xiaowen. 

Nakajima and Crowe both went on to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship before joining the ranks of the professionals, while Yasuda won the second edition of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in 2019 and Natthakritta was twice a runner-up. 

This year’s field is headlined by Thailand’s Achiraya Sriwong and Korean Kim Gyu-been, 22nd and 28th respectively in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

Among their most notable performances this year, both made the cut at April’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Achiraya placing joint 11th and Kim equal 15th.

Kim continued her outstanding form at last month’s Queen Sirikit Cup in Indonesia where she had the distinction of finishing as the low individual.

Other standout players in the Girls’ category include Achiraya’s Thai team-mate Marisa Tojai, Kim’s fellow-Korean Yoon Gyu-ri, the Hong Kong, China duo of Sabrina Wong and Felicia Hughes and a powerful China team of Peng Yanxuan and Xing Feiyu.

Tojai has already won four times this year, while Hughes arrived in Sri Lanka fresh from her victory in the Singapore Junior Championship last week.

In the Boys’ segment, the two top rated players are Korean Son Je-yi (275th in the WAGR) and Singaporean Troy Storm (370th), while there will also be focus on 15-year-old Harjai Milkha Singh, son of Jeev Milkha Singh, one of the most successful Indian golfers of the past 40 years.

Like Hughes, 17-year-old Storm will be full of confidence after firing a closing nine-under 63 to win the Singapore Junior Championship Boys’ title a matter of days ago.

Spearheading the Sri Lankan challenge is Kaya Daluwatte who made her own piece of history at Royal Wellington Golf Club in New Zealand in February when she became the first golfer from her country to make the cut at the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific.