Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Soaring to new heights is becoming common place for jet-setting Harry Takis. Australia’s top-rated player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), Takis is in the midst of what is the most memorable five-week stretch of his golfing life.
This week’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) is the third stop in a run of tournaments that underline the progress that Takis has made over the past two years, and gives him the self-belief that he can triumph at Emirates Golf Club.
A fortnight ago, the sophomore at San Diego State University who turned 20 on October 4, was part of the Australian team (alongside fellow-AAC participants Declan O’Donovan and Billy Dowling) that placed second behind South Africa in the World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy in Singapore.
Takis finished equal 28th individually on even-par 288 at Tanah Merah Country Club’s Tampines Course where he bounced back from a third-round 79 to post a closing 69. That return proved crucial in securing his country the silver medal and moving him up 25 spots in the WAGR to 90th.
From Singapore, he headed to Tokyo for the Japan Open, where he gave a good account of himself, finishing second among the strong amateur contingent.
After squeezing through to the weekend on the cut-off mark of six-over 146 at Nikko Country Club, Takis worked his way up the leaderboard with a one-under 69 on day three before signing-off with a 74 that lifted him to equal 43rd spot on nine-over 289. Only nine players bettered par. Among the notables in field for the Japan Golf Tour showpiece were Takis’ compatriot Adam Scott (11th, 281) and former AAC winner Takumi Kanaya of Japan (tied 23rd, 284).
The week after next (November 6-9) sees him with another high-profile assignment against the professionals at Singapore Island Country Club in the Moutai Singapore Open, part of The International Series, one of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour.
He earned that spot by dint of a runaway 11-stroke success in the Singapore Amateur Open in July where he fired rounds of 65, 69, 66 and 64 for a 24-under-par aggregate of 264 at Orchid Country Club.
For this week, though, his focus is 100 per cent on the AAC, an event in which he made his debut in 2023 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club where he finished tied 41st.
“That was a good experience in Melbourne, but I don’t know if I was really ready to win back then. Since then, I’ve improved a lot as a player and as a person and hopefully I can get it done in Dubai. There’s no reason why I can’t win this one,” said Takis, who hopes his prospects will be boosted by the use of a caddie with knowledge of the Majlis Course.
“My caddie for the week (Damon) is actually a friend from home, whose family lives in Dubai. My friend’s Dad works in Dubai and Damon has played the course a few times.”
Added motivation for Takis comes from the fact that his San Diego State University team-mate Justin Hastings from the Cayman Islands played the Masters and The Open this year after winning the Latin American Amateur Championship.
“I got to see everything that came to him for winning that. It was pretty cool,” said Takis, who acknowledges that the prizes on offer for winning the AAC are life-changing. “I think it’s impossible really not to think about it. I try not to, but it’s always in the back of your mind.”
If he's in contention come Sunday, you can be sure it will have progressed to the forefront of his thoughts.