Zack Swanwick takes lead into final round at Asia Pacifc Amateur Championship


New Zealand’s Zack Swanwick acknowledges the crowd after holing a birdie putt at the last – image AAC

Through six holes of Thursday’s opening round of the 2026 Asia Pacific Amateur Championship, 20-year-old New Zealander Zack Swanwick, must have been wondering just what was going on. As one of the leading-ranked players in the field, he found himself 4 over par, and, with a demanding Te Arai Links layout ahead of him, Swanwick had a lot of work just to get himself back into contention.

Fast forward just over 48 hours and Swanwick finds himself with a two-shot lead as the prestigious championship enters the final day with so much at stake.

Swanwick’s birdies at the last three holes on Thursday played a big role in both his position on the leaderboard and the momentum needed as he entered round two, and when he signed for a round of 67 on Friday he was very much a contender.

Today, in improved but still breezy conditions on one of New Zealand’s now flagship layouts, Swanwick put together an impressive five-birdie, one-bogey round of 67, which included a final nine of 33, and when he finished he stood two ahead of long-time leader, Fifa Laopakdee and Cooper Moore who were playing in the group behind but with an opportunity to close the gap at the reachable par 5 18th.

Both Moore and Laopakdee would, however, miss very makeable birdie chances, and they head into tomorrow’s final round two behind Swanwick and two ahead of the only other player under par for the 54 holes to date, Kaito Sato of Japan.

In a share of 5th place are Australian Harry Takis, who himself has made an impressive comeback from a slow start to the week and may not yet be out of things, and another New Zealander Zach May.

Swanwick made what might turn out to be a crucial birdie at the last after finding the sandy area left of the fairway at the par five and deciding to lay up instead of taking on a risky line to the green, and he was rewarded with an outstanding shot from 130 metres or so to set up a 12-foot birdie which he converted.

“Saw it go left, not in the best spot but got lucky with the lie,” said Swanwick describing his final hole. “After a bad shot, the last thing you don’t want to do is hit another one. Just lay up. If I had a shot at birdie on the last hole, I would be happy.  Hit a nice little iron shot and made the putt.

“Nice way to finish.  Yeah, looking forward to tomorrow.  Be a cool opportunity.”

With just four players under par and 13 over par making the cut for the leading 65, the outstanding layout has proven to be a fine test for the field of 120 and tomorrow the final round will test the nerve and skill of those four and perhaps one or two more who look to claim the prestigious Asia Pacific Amateur title and the much-sought-after starts at the 2027 Masters Tournament and Open Championship.

LEADERBOARD
 

 

 

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Defending champion Laopakdee under siege from New Zealanders at Asia Pacific


Leader, Fifa Laopakdee, during his morning round on day two – image AAC

Defending champion Fifa Laopakdee was unable to reproduce the magic of his day one 63 in today’s second round of the 2026 Asia Pacific Amateur Championship at the Te Arai Links north of Auckland in New Zealand, but his one-over-par round of 72 in demanding, breezy, conditions has him at 7 under par, his three-shot opening-round lead, however, is now reduced to just two over New Zealand’s Cooper Moore

Playing early on day two, Laopakdee reached the turn in 2 under 34, but dropped shots at four of the next five holes, surrounded by a birdie at his 12th hole, saw him finish at 1 over for the day, but his effort has him very well placed as the event heads into the weekend.

“Yeah, as you can see, it’s a little windy,” said Laopakdee with a smile.  “Didn’t expect it in the morning, though, but we’ll see how it plays in the afternoon.  Overall, it was a grind out there for me.  Had a great front nine, shot 2‑under par, then back nine, just didn’t make any putts.

“Got two 3‑putts and then, coming down the stretch, had a great chance of birdies, but I just missed all of them.  But if you asked me, like, just all week, I would take 7‑under for the first two rounds, I would take it, definitely, and I think I’m in good position for the weekend.”

Moore was out more than 4 hours after Laopakdee had finished his round and at 1 over par through 10 holes in the increasingly blustery conditions and four from the lead, his chances of challenging Laopakdee appeared slim. The Christchurch golfer, however, holed a lengthy birdie putt at the 16th and then produced some short-game wizardry on the final hole, adding one last birdie to move within two of the lead.

“Yeah, really proud of myself after that,” said Moore, referring to his comeback from a relatively slow start. “Obviously it’s windy; I made a lot of putts.  Didn’t hole many putts, and then to finish with two birdies in my last three is good momentum to go into the weekend.”

Moore has already shown a capacity to contend in a significant event, finishing runner-up at the New Zealand PGA Championship in March, along with wins at the New Zealand Amateur and Australian Junior Amateur Championships.


Cooper Moore – in action today -image courtesy of AAC

In third place and three from the lead is another of the nine strong New Zealand team in the event, Ryan Xie, whose round of 71 included a 45-foot eagle putt after driving the green at the 3rd hole after bogeys at his opening two holes. Xie will play collegiate golf at Santa Clara University in California in the 2026/2027 season.

“It was stupid tough out there,” said Xie, referring to the conditions. “Just try to keep the ball as low as you can.  Let the wind do its thing and just get it close”.


Ryan Xie – during today’s second round – image courtesy of AAC

One of Laopkdee’s playing partners over the opening two days has been New Zealand’s Zack Swanwick, and after a slow start yesterday where he was four over par through six holes, the second highest ranked player in the field finished off round one with three consecutive birdies which built important momentum for his second round of 67 to be at 3 under, four from the lead and alone in 4th place.

Swanwick was clearly delighted to have bounced back into contention.

“Pretty happy,” said Swanwick after his round. “It’s been a rough few weeks for the game. It’s a bit of confidence for the week and looking forward to it.”

When asked what had made the difference between his disappointing start, his late comeback on day one and his round today Swanwick replied; “Just the ball flight.  I kept hitting high shots when I should have been hitting knockdowns.  Went back to that on range yesterday and kept the flight down, ball control and helped a lot.”

Both Laopkdee and Swanwick also attend college in the US, Laopkdee at Arizona State and Swanwick at Florida State.

Queensland’s Harrison Gomez leads the Australians in a share of 8th place at even par.

The cut fell at a massive 13 over, a reflection of the demanding, blustery conditions on the stunning Te Arai Links.

Leaderboard 

 

 

 

 

   

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Asia Pacific Amateur showcases stunning Te Arai Links


The stunning backdrop at Te Arai Links – image Asia Pacific Amateur Championship

The Asia Pacific Amateur Championship will be played for the 17th time this week, when the event gets underway on Thursday at the highly regarded South Course at Te Arai Links at Mangawhai Heads, north of Auckland.

First played in 2009 when won by South Korean Hang Chang at the Mission Hills Golf Club in China, the event brings together 120 players from 39 different countries from the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, with not only this increasingly prestigious title up for grabs but also a start at the 2027 Masters Tournament and Open Championship, provided the winner remains an amateur.

The most successful of those who have won the title is undoubtedly Hideki Matsuyama, who won two of the first three editions of the event and then made the cut at the Masters on both occasions as an amateur before turning professional and winning the event in 2021.

China has the most victories in the event, with its golfers winning on five occasions, Japan and Australia have four each, South Korea two and Thailand one.

The South Course at Te Arai was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and promises to provide a brilliant centrepiece of the coverage this week, given its location alongside the Pacific Ocean and the backdrop of several islands framing the scene.

The two leading world-ranked amateur male players in the field, are both Australasian. Queenslander, Harry Takis, now at college in the US, is the highest ranked, followed by New Zealand’s Zack Swanwick, another US college attendee, and so the opportunity exists for Australia to join China as the leading country in terms of wins in the event, while a win by Swanwick would provide New Zealand with their first win and in their homeland.


Harry Takis in practice today – image APAC


New Zealand’s Zack Swanwick during a media conference today – image APAC

 
Defending champion, Fifa Laopakdee of Thailand, who won in Dubai last year, is the third highest ranked amateur in the field.

The incentive of a victory providing access to both the Masters and the Open Championship has proven a great opportunity for young emerging golfers to compete against the world’s elite; the efforts by 2010 and 2011 champion Matsuyama and 2012 champion Guan Tianlang to make the cut at Augusta National are of particular note.

The inclusion in the Open Championship field for the winner was added in 2018, after an invitation to Final Qualifying only was previously available.

Funded almost totally by Augusta National, which uses the significant funds generated by the Masters Tournament to support the game internationally, including this and other leading amateur events such as the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and Latin America Amateur Championships.

The event is played over 72 holes with a cut to the leading 60 players through 36 holes.

Tee Times

 

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Guan Tianlang’s underrated Augusta National performance


Guan Tianlang being interviewed by this writer during his 2012 Asia Pacific Amateur win
This coming week’s Asia Pacific Amateur Championship being held at the Te Arai Links’ South Course at Mangawhai, about 90 minutes north of Auckland, brings back some fond memories I have of the event.
I was part of the commentary team in the event between 2012 and 2017, working alongside such luminaries as Bill Macatee, Frank Nobilo and, for two of those years, Dottie Pepper.
There were several memorable performances during that time, including the wins of Australians Antonio Murdaca in 2014 and Curtis Luck in 2016, but the performance which stands out amongst the six events in which I was in the role of on-course commentator was when, in 2012, 14-year-old Chinese golfer Guan Tianlang defeated Chinese Taipei’s TC Pan and Australian Oliver Goss to win at Amata Springs near Bangkok.
While his win that week was so impressive, it would be his performance nearly six months later, when still a 14-year-old at the Masters, that in this writer’s eyes stands out as one of the greatest and perhaps most underrated performances in the history of the game.
Guan (seen below being interviewed by me after one of his early rounds in Bangkok), was adequate but not long from the tee by any stretch of the imagination, but on an Augusta National layout lengthened in recent years he found a way to make the cut against all odds, including a one-shot penalty for slow play in round two.

There is no doubt Guan was desperately slow, as I witnessed at Amata Springs while I was on the course with him, but whichever way you look at it, making the cut against the world’s elite golfers, at such a tender age, was a stunning performance.

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Ryan Fox shares 4th place at Genesis Championship


Yuto Katsugarawa – image courtesy of Getty Images 

Ryan Fox was perhaps a little disappointing in his closing nine of 1 over par 36 on day four of the Genesis Championship in Cheonan, South Korea, but his share of 4th place behind the winner, Yuto Katsugarawa of Japan (pictured courtesy of Getty Images), has kept the New Zealander in 6th place in the Race to Dubai rankings as the DP World Tour looks to the Abu Dhabi Championship beginning on Nov 5th, the first of its playoffs in Abu Dhabi.

Katsugarawa’s timely win allowed him to move from outside the top 100 to 28th in the Race to Dubai rankings, and for the young man whose only win on the Japan or DP World Tour came when winning the ISPS Handa Championship two years ago, the victory opens up a range of possibilities in Europe in the foreseeable future.

The leading 70 players in the Race to Dubai rankings will now advance to the Abu Dhabi Championship in ten days time, the first of two Playoff events, with Ryan Fox in 6th place, Daniel Hillier (7th) Min Woo Lee 47th and Adam Scott 49th all eligible to take their place in the field in Abu Dhabi.

Hillier’s last-round 66 today to finish in a share of 11th place, will improve him one position to 7th in the Race to Dubai ranking and he and Fox are assured of advancing to the top 50 to make the DP World Tour Championship in two weeks.

Fox began the final round four behind the leader, Katsugarawa, and two birdies in his first few holes had closed the gap to three, but Fox was unable to close the gap further on the way to the clubhouse, a bogey at the 17th costing him any chance of placing pressure on the eventual winner.

Fox will, however, retain a chance of closing the gap on the current Race to Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra in Abu Dhabi ahead of the final event of the season in Dubai beginning on Nov 12th.

Footnote – Ryan Fox will not play in Abu Dhabi but will play the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai

Results

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Nick Voke records best finish of season in Hong Kong

New Zealand’s Nick Voke was the leading Australasian at the Asian Tour’s Link Hong Kong Open at the Hong Kong Golf Club, the Auckland golfer putting together a good weekend with rounds of 64 and 68 to move through the field from 25th on Friday evening and finish in a share of 4th.

It was Voke’s best finish of the Asian Tour season and his best finish anywhere since his impressive third-place effort at last year’s Australian PGA Championship.

Voke’s US$91,000 cheque and associated points will move him to 20th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

Australians Cameron John, 25th, and Jed Morgan 43rd, were the next best of the large Australasian contingent that started the event.
Travis Smyth, currently second on the Asian Tour Order of Merit behind Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert, finished tied 47th this week and remains second as the Asian Tour heads to its final event of the season in the Philippines in three weeks.

The winner of the Hong Kong Open was American John Catlin, who as a result of his win in the event, his seventh victory in Asia, earns starts at the Open Championship and the Masters in 2027.

RESULTS

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Adam Bland turns back the clock in Adelaide


Adam Bland – with his Players Series SA trophyCongratulations to 44-year-old South Australian Adam Bland for his two-shot victory over Queensland’s, Louis Dobbelaar, in the PGA Tour of Australia’s Players Series South Australia event at the Willunga Golf Club south of Adelaide.

One of four leaders heading to today’s final round. Bland made an almost perfect start with three birdies in his first six holes and by the turn he held the advantage by two. As any potential challenger fell away over the closing nine holes, Bland stood firm with a final round of 67 to win and take what must have been an emotional victory, given his lack of success in Australia and that this win was in his home state.

Bland has won on the Canadian and Japan Tours, but that second win in Australia has proven elusive and that it has come at the age of 44 years of age, tells the story of a career resurrected.

Victorian amateur Jazy Roberts led the females in the mixed-gender event when she finished in a share of 11th.

RESULTS

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Daniel Gale takes halfway lead in South Australia


Daniel Gale in action this week – image courtesy of PGA of Australia

NSW golfer Daniel Gale has the halfway lead at the Players Series South Australia event at the Willunga Golf Course south of Adelaide, the 30-year-old following up some recent good form, when runner-up in Kalgoorlie and 8th at Secret Harbour in the WA Open, with rounds of 64 and 65 on the low-scoring layout to be two ahead of Victorian Kyle Michel.

Michel’s second-round 63 is the best of the week so far, and the former good amateur, who has struggled at the professional level for much of his career, appears to have found some form after a horror year in 2025, when he missed twelve of fourteen cuts.

Gale, who has won three events on the PGA Tour of Australasia, found himself on the DP World Tour for a couple of seasons courtesy of his form in Australia. Still, he struggled there, but he has now recorded two runner-up finishes at home in 2026 and appears close to the sort of form which saw such a promising future three years ago.

“The ultimate goal is, I think, for anyone to win the order of merit,” said Gale. “To do that, you’ve got to play well in pretty much all of these and play well in the big ones when it counts because a lot of points are up for grabs there. So I feel like I’ve been off to a good start so far and just try to keep the same things rolling. I definitely want to get back out in Europe.

“I love my time over there and the golf over there. I reckon probably throughout the years, American golf I thought was obviously PGA Tour, everyone strives for that. But I mean if I could play Europe for the rest of my life, it’d be amazing. Just the countries over there and the culture, it’s so nice. Yeah, nice.”

“I want to say the form coming into this week, it’s been pretty steady and pretty solid. And to have obviously, the good results the last couple of weeks, anytime you have good results, it sparks the confidence. So feel like everything’s sort of close to clicking. I’ve had just rounds where it’s like three out of four things are clicking, but yeah, it feels like piecing the puzzle together nicely.”

South Australian veteran Adam Bland is alone in third place and three shots from the lead while a large group at 7 under and tie for 4th includes the leading female in this mixed gender event, Rachel Lee.

The cut fell at 2 under, with 53 players making it to the weekend.

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Daniel Hillier all but secures PGA Tour card


Daniel Hillier – file image courtesy of PGA of AmericaNew Zealander Daniel Hillier’s runner-up finish in this week’s DP World India Championship will all but ensure the 28-year-old Wellingtonian the right to play the PGA Tour in 2027.

Hillier’s second place behind Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra, will see him move up six places to 8th in the Race to Dubai rankings and likely as high as 5th from 10th in the race for one of the ten players to earn a PGA Tour card for 2027.

The leading ten players in the Race to Dubai rankings and not otherwise exempt on the PGA Tour gain access to the potential riches of US and Hillier looks well and truly on his way.

Hillier’s final round of 67 came on top of consecutive rounds of 64 on Friday and Saturday, and considering where he stood after his opening round of 74 on Thursday, his last 54 holes will play a big part in his future.

“Pretty tiring week,” said Hillier. “Obviously, few delays out there. Pretty hot, which I’m not usually a fan of.”I think I was like 4-over through 14 holes in the first round or something, and I don’t know what happened, what clicked. Yeah, I just started finding the clubface and holing a few putts. The rest is history.

“I think after that start I just kind of started free wheeling it a little bit. Maybe a little bit tense, trying to get a little bit too much coming back from a pretty good week last year at the same joint.

“Yeah, obviously wanted to do well again. Yeah, I think once I got off to that start it kind of freed me up a little bit. I mean, just keep going after that first 8-under. To do it back to back and follow it up with a pretty good one at the end is pretty cool.

“I don’t know if that will solidify it (PGA Tour card) or not, but trying to play my best golf, and, yeah, if I can solidify the card it would be amazing. Yeah, great to focus on getting to America next year.”

With just the Genesis Championship in Korea, followed by the Abu Dhabi and DP World Championships to finish the season, Hillier looks to be well on his way to the PGA Tour, following his near miss on one of the cards nearly twelve months ago.

Hillier, who earlier this year won his own national open in Queenstown, has had yet another impressive season with now three runner-up finishes in big events on the DP World Tour in 2026, including the British Masters, the Dubai Invitational and, now, this event.

Chacarra’s win, his third of the season, sweeps him to the top of the Race to Dubai rankings ahead of Patrick Reed.

 

RESULTS
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James Marchesani earns first Australasian Tour title in WA


James Marchesani watches his lengthy putt at the last to set up his one shot win – image Australian Golf Media 

36-year-old Victorian James Marchesani won his first PGA Tour of Australasia title today, nine years after turning professional, with a one-shot win at the WA Open at Secret Harbour Golf Links south of Perth.

After sharing the 54-hole lead with defending champion and South African, Oliver Bekker, and Jasper Stubbs, Marchesani produced a final nine of 31 to edge one clear of Stubbs and two over Bekker and win the $36,000 first prize.

Bekker led by one at the turn over Stubbs with another shot back to Marchesani, but a stunning back nine which included five birdies saw Marchesani take a one-shot lead to the last, which he safely negotiated for his breakthrough win in Australia.

Marchesani, who played much of his amateur career at college in Oklahoma in the US, actually finished first in the Webex Series Victoria in 2023, but as it was a mixed gender event, the title went to the overall winner, Min A Yoon, but this victory now gives him his first official PGA Tour of Australasia title and seocnd place on the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.

Marchesani was delighted to have finally broken through after numerous podium finishes over the last few years and despite missing the cut in his last two events at St Andrews and Kalgoorlie, he impressed with the quality of his play over the Graha Marsh-designed layout.

“I think it was a matter of how long can you sort of wait and when is it going to happen?,” said Marchesani when asked about winning for the first time in Australia. “When is it going to happen? I’m playing good, but it’s not quite happening. So yeah, I think it does, but I’ve always believed I’ve been good enough to… It’s probably come a little later than what I though out here.

“But yeah, everyone’s so talented now, so you got to work harder and harder and harder. And as I get a little bit older, it is a little bit harder, but I still love it. So yeah, just a really rewarding week.

Stubbs had missed five of his previous seven cuts before an encouraging 3rd place in Kalgoorlie last week and was another looking for his first win, but he is a player good enough to have won the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship and to have finished 3rd at the 2024 Australian Open, and many are predicting a bright future for the 24-year-old.

His runner-up finish is his best on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

South African but now Australian resident Bekker was attempting to win this event for the second year in succession, and when he took an early lead on day four, he appeared on track to do just that. He still led by two with five holes to play. Bogeys at the 14th and 15th, however, were his downfall.

The PGA Tour of Australasia now heads to South Australia for this coming week’s mixed-gender Webex Series South Australia event.

RESULTS

 

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