Victory Cruise for ‘Fearless’ Korean Teenager Kim Min-su

Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, Japan: Rising Korean star Kim Min-su enhanced his rapidly burgeoning reputation with an emphatic triumph in the 110th Japan Amateur Golf Championship.

Displaying power, poise and an abundance of self-belief, the 18-year-old, who speaks of eclipsing the feats of Rory McIlroy, defied strong winds to cruise to a five-stroke success at Yokkaichi Country Club.

In so doing, Kim, the top-rated Korean in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) at 135th, became the first player from his country to win one of Asia’s most prestigious amateur titles since Kim Bi-o in 2008.

It also continued the big-hitting teenager’s outstanding run of form that has seen him win two Korean Open Amateur titles in the past three years as well as last year’s Saujana Amateur Championship in Malaysia. He placed seventh in the 2025 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai.

Three strokes clear of the field heading into the final round at the Mie Prefecture venue, Kim produced a faultless display, his closing three-under-par 69 made up of three birdies and 15 pars.

Regularly striking his drives more than 300 yards, Kim was the only player in the field to better 70 on all four days. He followed an opening 66 with a 67 on day two and closed out the tournament with back-to-back 69s.

In an interview ahead of his AAC debut last October, Kim was asked to describe his game. He said: “Golf without fear. It’s the golf I aspire to, and it’s the kind of golf I hope my fans will feel when they see me. I want to be a player free from worries and anxieties.”

As far as his ambitions go, he’s setting a high bar. Kim said: “I want to become a player who surpasses Rory McIlroy. I want to become a player who is immediately associated with golf.”

Taiki Fujii signed off with a 67, the joint best round of the final day, to claim sole possession of second place on 12-under 276 with defending champion Kaito Sato and Kota Takeda a further stroke back in joint third.

For Taisei Nagasaki it was once more a case of what might have been. Edged out in sudden-death play-offs at last year’s AAC and this year’s Royal Junior, the Yushi International High School student, ranked number one in the Graphite Design Japan Amateur Golf Ranking, could only manage a closing 73 which saw him drop into a share of 11th place on six-under 282.