Vietnamese golfers at AAC 2024: "Our goals are just ourselves and enjoy the game!"  08:09, 19/09/2024

Nguyen Anh Minh

It is a pleasure and an honor for me to participate in this prestigious amateur tournament for the third consecutive year. I am also very proud to represent Vietnam in the international arena. This year, my preparation is not too special. Like other tournaments, I have researched the course and watched competition videos here to visualize the terrain and tactics. I am quite strict with myself, so I always want to prepare thoroughly and carefully before each tournament. I consider AAC to be one of the leading playgrounds for amateur golfers to compete. Therefore, every year I see more and more excellent opponents participating in the tournament.

This year, my goal will be to continue to "enjoy the game", play golf with a relaxed mindset and try to play as well as possible. Luckily, this time, dad will continue to accompany me, so I feel more confident. In addition, this is also the second time I have come to Japan.

Le Khanh Hung

For me, every time I have the opportunity to compete, I feel extremely excited. Although I participated this prestigious tournament last year, I still feel very eager and looking forward to it. To prepare for the AAC 2024, I have watched tournaments held on the field and this helped me to feel a bit about the terrain there. Specifically, I found the terrain of Taiheiyo Club Gotemba course quite narrow and there were many trees on both sides of the road which creating a beautiful scene with Fuji Mountain.

To prepare for the tournament, I was mentally prepared and determined that when competing, everyone would have a chance to win to help me feel more confident. AAC is a prestigious tournament that attracts many excellent athletes, and competing with this opponent will help me learn many things. Therefore, I am very happy to be a part of this. My goal is to just be myself and enjoy the game. This year, dad is still accompanying me, so I feel very happy. After the competition day, I will definitely spend time exploring Japanese food.

Nguyen Duc Son

As a rookie who has the honor of participating in the world-class AAC tournament for the first time, I feel very excited and a little worried. To prepare for the tournament, I still practice every day to improve my health and technique. In addition, my club set sponsored by Mizuno was also fortunately directly adjusted by Mr. Le Hoa - Eagle Golf Fitting Center to help me have the best and most suitable club set when competing. According to the plan, on September 30, I will fly to Japan to practice and get acquainted with the course. This time, my father Nguyen Ngoc Quang will accompany me and he will also be my caddie at the tournament.

Through research, I see that the AAC tournament gathers many famous and talented amateur golfers from Asia – Pacific region. This is also an important tournament in the amateur series system and the Champion will be granted a special invitation to compete in two prestigious Majors: The Open and The Masters 2025.

In my first time participating in the tournament, I know that I will definitely have to face difficult and fierce moments because there are a series of top golfers competing. However, I will be determined to be myself and compete with all that I have and am having.

About the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship

The 2024 Asia Pacific Amateur Championship is one of the premier golf tournaments for amateur golfers in the Asia-Pacific region, competing for titles and tickets to the most prestigious major tournaments in the world. This year, the tournament will take place from October 3 to 6 at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba, Japan, bringing together many famous athletes from countries in the region. Notably, the champion of the tournament will receive a wild card to participate in The Masters and The Open in 2025, while the runner-up will also qualify for the final qualifying round of The Open 2025.

About the Taiheiyo Club Gotemba

With breathtaking views of the majestic Mount Fuji, Gotemba is the flagship course of the 18-course Taiheiyo Club complex. Voted the number one golf course in Japan by leading Japanese magazine Par Golf, it is no surprise that Gotemba has hosted many international professional tournaments such as the Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters and the World Golf Championships EMC World Cup. Even many world-class golfers agree that "You haven't played golf in Japan until you've explored Gotemba". Here are some things you may not know about Taiheiyo Club Gotemba.

• Designed in 1977 by Shunsuke Kato, underwent a renovation in 2018 overseen by Rees Jones with consultation from Matsuyama
• 18-hole golf course | 7,327yards | Par 72
• Hosted professional golf tournaments such as the 2001 World Cup, Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters