Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Korea
(Asia-Pacific Amateur Photo)
INCHEON, South Korea (October 3, 2016) -- The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), the region’s premier amateur golf tournament, will be televised across 160 countries and reach millions of homes around the world, the event’s Founding Partners – the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A – announced today.
From 6 – 9 October, a 120-player field will compete in the 72-hole stroke play event at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Korea. In addition to the contributions of the Founding Partners, the Championship is supported by six Proud Partners – AT&T, 3M, Mercedes-Benz, Samsung, Zurich and UPS – and two Scoring Partners, Rolex and IBM.
Asian Tour Media will produce the high-definition broadcast, which includes three hours of live coverage on each of the four competition days. A 30-minute highlight show will also be created after the conclusion of the event, all of which makes the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship the most televised amateur golf tournament in the world.
For the eighth year, the AAC will gather the top male amateur players from across the Asia-Pacific region. The champion will receive an invitation to compete in the 2017 Masters Tournament and, along with the runner(s)-up, a spot in The Open Qualifying Series for The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale. Hosted in Korea for the first time, this year’s AAC will continue efforts to raise the visibility of the game in the region and give the players the opportunity to compete on the world stage.
David Cherry, Chairman of the APGC said, “The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship’s mission is rooted in furthering the development of the game and bringing golf to a broader international audience. The AAC’s broadcasters are instrumental to the success of this undertaking, and we are fortunate to have their strong support in expanding the Championship’s reach. We look forward to staging another exciting event this year and working with our broadcast partners to make the AAC available to viewers around the world.”
The English-speaking commentary team will include Bill Macatee, a regular member of the Masters Tournament television broadcast, who will now be announcing his seventh Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. Frank Nobilo, one of New Zealand’s most successful golfers and CBS analyst in the United States, will return for the fifth consecutive year and will be joined for the second year by double major winner Dottie Pepper. Pepper and golf journalist Bruce Young will handle player interviews and on-course reporting duties.
With a host of broadcast partners around the globe, golf fans can follow the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship through TV channels covering key markets on five continents. Live coverage will be broadcast on 6 and 7 October between 2 – 5 p.m., from Noon – 3 p.m. on 8 October and 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. on 9 October (Seoul time) across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North and South America.
SBS Sports will broadcast the AAC live across South Korea. Fox Sports will provide live coverage of the event throughout the region, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia. Tokyo Broadcasting System, Le Sports / Travel Channel and Sky Sports will also provide live coverage for their territories in Japan, China and New Zealand, respectively. Eurosport will deliver coverage live across continental Europe. Other broadcasters include ESPN2 (United States), ESPN (Latin America), TSN (Canada), SuperSport (Southern Africa) and OSN (Middle East). The championship will also be distributed via extended highlights on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. The entirety of the live coverage will be streamed on the official event website, www.AACgolf.com.
Spectators are encouraged to watch the drama unfold at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club. Entry to the 2016 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is free of charge.
-Story by Asia-Pacific Amateur
ABOUT THE Asia-Pacific Amateur
The Asia-Pacific Amateur (formerly known as the
Asian Amateur) is the first of a series of
worldwide
championships put together by a between the
Asia
Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters
Tournament and The R&A. The event offers the
winner an invitation to the Masters Tournament at
Augusta National Golf Club and the British Open
Championship.
The event has historically moved throughout the
region and has now been held in China,
Japan, Singapore, Thailand,
Australia and Hong Kong, Korea, and New
Zealand.
A field, topping out at 120 players, is selected by
the
following criteria.
The top two ranked amateur players from
each
of the APGC member countries plus the four
top ranked players from the host country. If
there is not a sufficient number of players
ranked from that member country, the
member
country may nominate a player(s) from
their
country, to be approved by the APGC, to
fulfill
the two positions eligible from that country.
The remainder of the field will be filled
taking
the next highest ranked players of APGC
member countries, not otherwise qualified.
The
maximum number of eligible players from
any
APGC member country (with the exception
of
the host country) is six. Additional players may
be offered at the event's discretion.
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