Star-Studded Line-Up at Manila Southwoods

Manila, Philippines: A star-studded line-up featuring many of the region’s most exciting golfing prospects will be vying for glory when the 29th edition of the Nomura Cup tees-off tomorrow.

The four-round event over the Jack Nicklaus-designed Masters Course at Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club includes 16 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation member nations fielding three-man teams.

Due to a combination of unforeseen factors, the biennial tournament, also known as the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship, is being held for the first time since 2017.

The field includes four players in the top-100 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) – Japan’s Yuta Sugiura (32nd), Singaporean James Leow (54th), New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori (80th) and the United Arab Emirates’ Mohammad Skaik (95th).

A further 13 players are within the WAGR’s top-300 including Thai Pongsapak Laopakdee (173rd), Malaysian Anson Yeo (182nd), and Indonesian Jonathan Hartono (283rd), all of whom had the distinction of representing the International Team at last month’s Junior Presidents Cup.

One-third of the Nomura Cup field made the half-cut in last month’s 13th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) in Thailand with six posting top-20 finishes – Pongsapak and Japan’s Minato Oshimi (tied fifth), Japan’s Riura Mitsui (tied 11th), New Zealanders Sam Jones (tied 13th) and Jimmy Hydes (tied 17th) and Leow (tied 20th).

Although AAC winner Harrison Crowe is conspicuous by his absence, a strong Australian team comprising Jack Buchanan, Jye Pickin and Quinnton Croker is bidding to extend its record as the most successful nation in the event’s history by claiming the team title for an 11th time.

Brad James, Golf Australia’s General Manager High Performance, said: “The Nomura Cup has been an integral part of Australian male amateurs’ journeys, so to have the event taking place once again is a big boost for those players eager to perform on the international stage.

“Presidents Cup star Cameron Davis was a part of our winning team in 2013 and Open champion Cameron Smith was also a member of a triumphant Australian squad two years earlier. They have both shown that success in this event can help propel players onto successful professional careers.

“We’ve put together a strong team this year who are really eager to represent their country. Jack, Jye and Quinnton have all been consistent performers on home soil and they have all improved this year from having chances to tee it up overseas. We’re excited to see what they can do wearing the green and gold.”

On the fourth occasion that the Philippines has acted as Nomura Cup host, the country are represented by Kristoffer Arevalo, Elee Bisera and Coby Rolida.

Manila Southwoods Chairman Bob Sobrepeña said: “It is a great honour and pleasure for the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club to host the 2022 Nomura Cup.

“We welcome the 16 national teams from Asia who will participate in this championship event. We have always supported junior and amateur golf which we believe represents the future of the entire golfing industry.”

The best two daily scores in each three-man team will be counted toward the overall score.

The 16 competing teams come from Australia, Chinese-Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.