Six-Strong Kiwi Contingent Primed for Te Arai Links

Auckland, New Zealand: New Zealand has confirmed its six-player squad for next month’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), with Zack Swanwick, Joshua Bai, Cooper Moore, Yuki Miya, Robby Turnbull and Ryan Xie set to tee it up at Te Arai Links.

All six players are graduates or current members of Golf New Zealand’s Talent Development Programme and a testament to the strength of the pathway, each having built valuable experience internationally and domestically.

The group will contest the 17th edition of the championship on the South Course from October 29-November 1, going up against the leading men’s amateurs from across the Asia-Pacific region.

The AAC offers some of the most significant opportunities in amateur golf, with the champion earning an invitation to the 2027 Masters Tournament and an exemption into The 155th Open Championship. The runner-up and other leading finishers also earn exemptions into major amateur and professional events.

It will be the second time the tournament that was founded by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), The R&A and the Masters Tournament has been staged in Aotearoa New Zealand, following the 2017 edition at Royal Wellington Golf Club, won by China’s Lin Yuxin. It will also mark the first major international championship hosted at Te Arai Links since the venue opened in 2022.

Bai will make his third AAC start after a standout northern summer in the United States. The Aucklander claimed the prestigious North & South Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2 in July before progressing to the Round of 16 at the US Amateur. Earlier in the year, he tied third at the Sea Best Invitational for the University of Florida.

Florida team-mate Swanwick returns to the AAC after missing last year’s championship due to collegiate commitments. The Hawke’s Bay representative recorded three top-10 finishes for the Gators during the 2025-26 season, including a share of third at the Williams Cup, before closing the NCAA Championship with a six-under 66. He also represented the International side at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup.

Moore has also enjoyed a strong year, claiming his maiden Summerset Charles Tour title at the 2025 Mount Open before finishing runner-up at the New Zealand PGA Championship. The Canterbury teenager also reached the quarter-finals of the US Junior Amateur in July and returns to the AAC after finishing tied 17th in Dubai last year.

Fellow Cantabrian Miya has had a breakout 12 months of his own. Miya won the Pegasus Classic on the Charles Tour late last year before finishing as the leading amateur at the 105th New Zealand Open, placing runner-up at the Faldo Junior Tour Asia Grand Final in Vietnam after losing out in a play-off and finishing ninth at The Amateur Championship.

Turnbull returns after a tied 19th finish at the 2025 AAC at Emirates Golf Club. The Aucklander has since completed an impressive first collegiate season with Eastern Michigan University, highlighted by a tied-sixth finish at the Hal Williams Collegiate and selection as Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year and to the All-MAC First Team.

Rounding out the group is Xie, who has produced a string of strong international results in recent months. Xie finished runner-up at the Australian Junior Amateur in April, tied fourth at the Western Junior and reached the quarter-finals of the US Junior Amateur, where he was edged 2&1 by fellow-Kiwi Moore.

New Zealand is still searching for its first AAC winner, with third place remaining the country’s best finish. Peter Spearman-Burn shared third at the inaugural championship in China in 2009, a finish that was emulated by Ben Campbell in Singapore in 2011 and Luke Toomey in Korea in 2016.