Lee, Payne, Dawson gather for press conference

The three leading golfing organisations behind the creation of the Asian Amateur Championship – the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, the Masters Tournament and The R&A – celebrated the event’s grow-the-game efforts at its annual press conference today. The second playing of the championship commenced at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kawagoe City, Japan, Thursday.

Speaking to a group of media and event officials, Tommy Lee, Chairman, Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, said: “Nearly two years ago, the APGC entered into a historic partnership to promote, and grow, the game of golf with these influential organisations. We continue to believe this partnership will provide the Asia-Pacific amateur players something real and tangible to aspire to, now and in the future.”

Added Billy Payne, Chairman, the Masters Tournament: “As we watched Han Chang-won realise his dream in Augusta this past April and observed him showcasing his skill against the best players in the world, it was clear to us all that – as the first of many Asian Amateur Champions – he was inspiring the next generation of players from this region. It made all of our efforts worthwhile and solidified our commitment to continue to seek opportunities to spread the many virtues of this game we all love.”

Peter Dawson, Chief Executive, The R&A, said: “The R&A is delighted to support this event, which is not only designed to identify an elite champion, but also, and perhaps more importantly, to provide an opportunity for some 27 golfing nations from across the Asia Pacific region to come together with a common aim: growing the game of golf.

“In 2011, our champion and runners up will again take part in International Final Qualifying hoping to realise their dream of standing shoulder to shoulder with the world's best at Royal St George's,” he said.

It was also announced at this morning’s event that next year’s championship will be played on The Singapore Island Country Club’s New Course from September 29-October 2, 2011.

Beginning earlier in the day, the tournament began to tee off a 118-player field made up of the top male amateur golfers from 27 nations throughout Asia-Pacific.

An invitation to play in the 2011 Masters Tournament awaits the winner, while both the winner and the runner(s)-up will earn a place in International Final Qualifying for The Open Championship being played next year at Royal St George’s Golf Club.

Tokyo Broadcasting System is producing the world feed that is being distributed in high-definition to more than 150 countries via ESPN STAR Sports (Asia), ONE HD (Australia), TSN (Canada), ESPN Latin America, Fox Sports (Middle East), Sky Sports (New Zealand) and ESPN2 (United States).

Earlier in the year it was announced that Samsung and Japan Airlines would join the 2010 event as ‘Proud Partners’. The support of Samsung and JAL complements that of IBM, KFC, Rolex and Zurich, all of whom also backed the inaugural championship in 2009.