'Vibrant' China Team Seeks Bayhood No. 9 Glory

Beijing, China: The vibrant and youthful spirit of China’s new generation of golfers will be showcased at this week’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship for the Nomura Cup.

With a combined age of 45, Wu Qiyou, Cui Jingguo and Li Zhi are not only the future faces of China golf but also carry the hopes of the host nation at the 31st edition of the tournament that is co-organised by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) and the China Golf Association (CGA), and hosted by the Beijing Golf Association (BGA), with the Chaoyang District Sports Bureau as a supporting unit.

Among the brightest prospects in Asia, 17-year-old Wu, 15-year-old Cui and 13-year-old Li are aiming to upstage their rivals from 20 other APGC member nations at Beijing’s Bayhood No. 9 Golf Club and claim the Nomura Cup for China for the first time.

The omens are encouraging. All three have enjoyed multiple successes in tournaments on home soil and have seen their stock rise in recent months, along with their positions in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

Currently 165th in the standings, Wu was thrust into the international spotlight when he reached the last four at the 2025 US Junior Amateur Championship, being eliminated by Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh in the semi-final.

Li has soared to 180th while Cui is 216th. Li has been especially impressive in 2026 with two wins and five runner-up finishes from 11 starts in WAGR-counting events.

Tian Xiaojun, Vice President of the CGA and an Executive Committee Member of the APGC, said: “The hosting of this tournament in Beijing is a vivid example of both sides promoting the sustainable development of golf in the Asia-Pacific region.

“It is worth noting that this is the first time Beijing has hosted this event. The China Golf Association has selected China’s best amateur players to represent the country and showcase the vibrant and youthful spirit of China’s new generation of golfers on their home turf.

“The event will not only effectively empower the popularisation and promotion of golf in my country, but also build an important bridge for sports exchanges and cultural exchange in the Asia-Pacific region, continuously enhancing the international influence of Chinese golf.”

Zhang Jingdong, Chairman of the BGA, said the tournament has been officially included in the 2026 Beijing ‘Dual Olympics 100’ premium tournament system. It aims to leverage the existing high-quality facilities at Bayhood No. 9 to collaboratively create a vibrant sports event cluster in the northern part of Beijing’s ‘Urban Sports Vitality Ring’, fully showcasing the new look of Beijing’s sports.

Simultaneously, the tournament will uphold the principle of ‘People’s Sports, Mass Golf’, allowing the vitality of golf to benefit more people, ‘making it a warm and meaningful national sports event’.

Furthermore, the official mascot launched by the organising committee – the ‘Beijing Lion’ – and the traditional Chinese elements incorporated into the tournament will use internationally recognised sports language to tell Chinese stories and convey traditional Chinese culture, said Zhang.

As a hub for branded sporting events, a demonstration zone for the dual Olympic Games, and a hub for international sports exchanges, Chaoyang District of Beijing will provide strong local support for the event.

Liu Jinjuan, Deputy Director of the Chaoyang District Sports Bureau, said: “The 31st Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship, being held in Beijing and Chaoyang for the first time, presents a significant opportunity for Chaoyang to improve its high-end sporting event portfolio and enrich its international sports exchange opportunities.

“The Chaoyang District Sports Bureau will proactively co-ordinate throughout the process, providing comprehensive service and support, and continuously promote the deep implementation of the ‘Travel with the Events’ initiative, effectively transforming the ‘traffic’ brought by high-level events into ‘incremental’ growth in the industry and consumer vitality, thus helping to improve the quality and efficiency of Chaoyang’s sports industry.”

Among the countries expected to challenge China for top honours at Bayhood No. 9 are Australia, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, the defending champions.

The top-rated player in the field is Australian Kayun Mudadana, 97th in the WAGR. There are 12 other players currently in the top-250 in the standings, including Japan’s Taisei Nagasaki, runner-up in last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, and New Zealand’s Cooper Moore, winner of the 2025 APGC Junior Boys’ Championship.

The tournament consists of 72 holes of team stroke play. In each round, the scores of the two best-performing players from each team of three are added together to determine the team score for that round. The team scores are added together after four rounds to determine the final team score. The team with the lowest total score will be crowned champions.

This year’s event will also see the individual winner presented with the Taimur Hassan Amin Trophy, donated by immediate Past President of the APGC Taimur Hassan Amin, who topped the individual standings when representing Pakistan in the 1977 edition of the Nomura Cup in Kuala Lumpur.