Vietnam’s Le Khanh Hung fights hard to stat in co-lead at Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship  12:41, 25/10/2025

The 17-year-old Le snared seven birdies against two dropped shots at the Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis course for a two-day total of 11-under 133, matched by Japan’s Rintaro Nakano and Australian Harry Takis, who shot matching 66s.

The winner on Sunday will earn coveted invitations to the Masters Tournament and The Open.

“It was tough today. The greens got really firm in the afternoon, I'm just happy that I fight for every shot.  It's a good round for me,” said Hung, who is seeking to become the first Vietnamese winner at the Championship.

The Florida-based high school student, who finished T24 in 2023, was in blistering form early on with five birdies in his opening 10 holes before the iconic Majlis course, which has the stunning Dubai skyline as its backdrop, hit back. Le suffered bogeys on the 12th and 14th holes with errant shots before steadying the ship with birdies on the 15th and 17thholes.

“I just feel like I have a strategy. I know it's tough but I feel like I can't ask for more because this is a great tournament. I'm enjoying it. Yes, today I started strong but I feel it was a little bit of a struggle during the middle of the round. Just remind myself to fight for every single shot,” said Le, whose father Van Lan is caddying for him.

“I'm grateful to be here and I'm just appreciating the journey and the experience for this year, AAC in Dubai.  I just want to enjoy every moment. I don't really look too much into my golf game right now. I think maybe I'm hitting my irons a bit bitter ... I'm hitting them pretty solid.  Hopefully it stays the same.”

No Vietnamese golfer has won the Asia-Pacific Amateur since it was inaugurated in 2009, with Nguyen Anh Minh’s tied seventh place finish at Royal Melbourne in 2023 being the best result. Le knows he must stay on an even keel to give himself every chance at winning the Championship for his country.

“I think stay in the present,” said Le, the 2023 Southeast Asian Games individual gold medal winner. “Right now, I should just focus on recovery, ice, take a shower and get nice sleep and get fully recovered for tomorrow, and then it's going to be a long day. Try to get myself ready.”

This weekend will also give him a chance to make up for the disappointment of missing out on last year’s edition in Japan where he did not play due to a visa snag.

“Yeah, I was disappointed.  I got a little bit more disappointed when my friends said it was a great one to play in. I got to see everyone play there and everyone inspires me a lot to keep working.  I feel like I just try to take the positives out of it and help myself to just keep working,” said Le.