Miya and Farquharson Qualify for Match Play Phase

Liverpool, England: Yuki Miya and Hamish Farquharson will fly the flag for the Asia-Pacific region in the match play phase of The 131st Amateur Championship.

New Zealander Miya and Australian Farquharson guaranteed their places in the match play segment by finishing among the top-64 in the 36-hole stroke play qualifier.

While Miya returned rounds of 74 and 67, Farquharson signed for a 72 and a 69, leaving them in a share of 34th place,

Farquharson’s compatriot Wesley Hinton was among 21 players tied on two-under 142. He will return early Wednesday morning for a play-off at Royal Liverpool from which 10 players will progress to match play.

There was an early exit for the remaining 17 representatives from the Asia-Pacific who were part of a 288-player starting line-up, including Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation Bonallack Trophy players Joshua Bai, Taishi Moto and Jeffrey Shen, reigning APGC Junior Boys’ champion Cooper Moore and Taisei Nagasaki, runner-up at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC).

For Japan’s Nagasaki it was once more a case of so near, yet so far.

Last October, Nagasaki was in tears after being beaten in a play-off by Pongsapak ‘Fifa’ Laopakdee for the AAC title at Emirates Golf Club – and a place in this year’s Masters Tournament and Open Championship.

There was more disappointment for Nagasaki in April when he was edged out in extra-time by Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Cheng-wei at The Royal Junior.

On his Amateur Championship debut, there was further heartbreak when he failed by one stroke to extend his stay in England.

On Monday, Nagasaki ran up three double-bogeys en route to a four-over 76 at West Lancashire, leaving him with a mountain to climb in round two at Royal Liverpool. Undaunted, he raced to six-under through 16 holes and appeared on track to qualify only to suffer his solitary blemish at the 17th, meaning he signed for a five-under 67 and a two-day total of 143 – just one too many.

Also missing out were Australian Chase Oberle (144), New Zealand’s Bai and Moore, Australians Kayun Mudadana and Abel Eduard and Nagasaki’s Royal Junior conqueror Hsieh (all 147).

They were followed by Japan’s Moto and Riki Matsumoto (both 148), Australian Ollie Marsh and Japan’s Kaito Sato (both 149), Australian Josiah Edwards (150), Indian Ribhav Verma (152), Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chi-chun (153), Singaporean Brayden Lee and Hong Kong’s Shen (both 154), Indian Anshul Mishra (156) and Rayan Ahmed (159), the first player from the United Arab Emirates to compete in The Amateur Championship.

Wilhelm Ryding of Sweden topped the stroke play qualifying standings. After an opening four-under 68 at Royal Liverpool, which left him one shot off the pace, Ryding fortified his position and moved to the summit with a five-under 67 at West Lancashire. The 21-year-old’s nine-under aggregate left him one stroke clear of his compatriot, Edwin Askerfors, and the English trio of Ben Bolton, Edward Featherstone and Joshua McCartain. 

The winner of Saturday’s 36-hole final will secure exemptions into The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale next month, the 2027 US Open, and, by tradition, an invitation to play in the Masters Tournament. 

The first Amateur Championship was held at Hoylake in 1885 where 44 players from 12 clubs competed. Some of golf’s greatest names have triumphed in the event, including Bobby Jones, José María Olazábal and Sergio Garcia. 

The final two days of this year’s event will be broadcast live on R&A TV and YouTube.