Rising Thai star Aphibarnrat topped the two-day qualifying with a flawless nine-under-par 63 while Japanese amateur Matsuyama, a two-time Asia Pacific Amateur Championship winner, finished four shots back following a 69 at the Amata Spring Country Club.

His countryman Maruyama and China’s Wu closed with a 65 and 68 respectively to clinch the other two places at The Open Championship. Overnight leader Siddikur agonisingly missed out on becoming the first Bangladeshi player to play in golf’s oldest Major Championship after sending his tee shot into the water on the par-three 17th for a double bogey.

Aphibarnrat reached the turn in an impressive 30 strokes and added three further birdies to join countrymen Thaworn Wiratchant and Thongchai Jaidee at Muirfield from July 18 to 21.

“I’m glad I achieved my first dream in golf which is to play in a Major Championship. I want to do my best at The Open. It will be the biggest challenge and event in my life,” said the 23-year-old, who totalled 13-under-par 131.

“I’ve definitely improved a lot while playing on the Asian Tour. I’ve gained a lot of experience through the years and earning an appearance in a Major shows just how far my career has gone,” added Aphibarnrat.

The highly rated Matsuyama, who dropped six shots in the last three holes last year, overcame a bogey on 16 and a double bogey on 17 with a spectacular birdie at the last to qualify for his first Open Championship. It will be his third appearance in a Major Championship after playing in The Masters Tournament in 2011 and 2012.

“I’m excited and happy because I made it. After 16 and 17, I told myself to calm down which I did. I’m glad with the way I handled myself out there. This is my first appearance at The Open and I can’t wait for it.

“I gained a lot of experience when I played in The Masters and it improved my game and maturity. I’m sure I’ll become even better after playing in The Open,” smiled the 21-year-old, who has one professional victory in Japan as an amateur.

Maruyama, a two-time Asian Tour winner, made an impressive charge up the leaderboard with a round of eight birdies and one bogey to qualify for his first ever Major Championship.

“My goal was to shoot seven-under and I hit that target! I turn 42 soon and I told myself that I need to qualify for The Open before I hang up my clubs. I’m really proud with my achievement today,” said Maruyama, who turns 42 on March 16.

After dropping a double bogey on nine, Wu made a relentless homeward nine charge as he returned with four birdies to become only the second Chinese player after Liang Wen-Chong to play in The Open Championship.

“I played very well especially on my back nine. I’m very happy with my performance. Everybody wants to play in The Open including me. I told my coach last month that I dreamt of qualifying for The Open and it came true!” said Wu, who played on the Asian Tour in 2008 and 2009.

Wu’s 14-year-old countryman Guan Tianlang, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion finished 11 shots back from the qualifying positions on 147 after rounds of 73 and 74. Ireland’s Niall Turner finished on a five-under-par total of 139 to miss out by three shots. England’s Stephen Lewton finished on a one-under-par total of 143 and James Byrne from Scotland finished three shots further back.

Scores after round 2 of the IFQ Asia 2013 being played at the par 72, 7419 Yards Amata Spring CC course (am- denotes amateur):

131 — Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) 68-63.

135 — Hideki MATSUYAMA (am, JPN) 66-69.

136 — Daisuke MARUYAMA (JPN) 71-65, WU Ashun (CHN) 68-68.

138 — Javi COLOMO (ESP) 71-67, Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 71-67, Masahiro KAWAMURA (JPN) 74-64, Rory HIE (INA) 68-70.

139 — Niall TURNER (IRL) 71-68, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 70-69, Yuta IKEDA (JPN) 69-70, Scott HEND (AUS) 69-70, Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA) 69-70, Berry HENSON (USA) 68-71, Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 68-71, SIDDIKUR (BAN) 66-73.

140 — Kodai ICHIHARA (JPN) 72-68, Kalle SAMOOJA (FIN) 69-71, KIM Hyung-sung (KOR) 68-72, Anthony KANG (USA) 68-72, Scott BARR (AUS) 67-73, HU Mu (CHN) 67-73.

141 — Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 72-69, LAM Chih Bing (SIN) 71-70, PARK Ju-hyuk (KOR) 71-70, Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 73-68, PAN Cheng-tsung (am, TPE) 68-73.

Full list of final hole-by-hole scores can be found here.

The Bangladeshi could become the first player to represent his country in golf’s oldest Major Championship after carding seven birdies and one bogey on his way to an opening 66. The two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion Matsuyama, who was the first Japanese amateur to play in the Masters Tournament in 2011, matched him after a round featuring eight birdies and two bogeys.

China’s Mu Hu, Australian Scott Barr and Singaporeans Quincy Quek and Zhiqun Lam were a further shot back in the two-day qualifier where the top four players qualify for the year’s third Major at Muirfield from 14-21 July.

Siddkur got off to an excellent start and was five-under-par after six holes. He said: “I’m very happy. I played very well in the beginning. I got seven birdies with one bogey so I’m really happy with the round. I’m very confident and my game is good. If I can play my game, I’m quite confident I’ll be able to qualify for The Open Championship.”

Matsuyama, who is ranked fifth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, hopes to make amends for last year’s heartbreak when he dropped six shots in the last three holes to miss the play-off for the fourth and final place in The Open Championship by two shots.

“I’ve forgotten about that and have already moved on. I’m looking forward to the last day and if I can keep playing as I did, then I’ll be able to earn a place in The Open Championship,” said Matsuyama.

Singapore’s Quek, who is aiming to become the third Singaporean after Mardan Mamat and Lam Chih Bing to play in The Open Championship, was in the lead for 17 holes but he hit his tee shot into the water on the ninth hole for a double bogey.

“I’m happy to be on five-under with a double bogey! In two-day events, you have to make as many birdies as you can. I guess my focus tomorrow is to enjoy the round and put in a low number,” said the 26-year-old.

Australian Barr mixed his round with eight birdies and one eagle against a double bogey and three bogeys as he plots a return to The Open Championship where he made his debut at Royal Troon in 2004.

“I started to hit the ball pretty well at the start and putted pretty good. I just made a couple of soft mistakes. This is a golf course where you can get in big trouble without making many mistakes. Overall I’m happy but I hope to hold it together,” said Barr.

Scotland’s James Byrne and England’s Stephen Lewton stayed in touch with the leaders after two under par rounds of 70 but Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion Guan Tianlang struggled to a one-over-par 73.

Scores after round 1 of the IFQ Asia 2013 being played at the par 72, 7419 Yards Amata Spring CC course (a- denotes amateur):

66 -  SIDDIKUR (BAN), Hideki MATSUYAMA (am, JPN).

67 – HU Mu (CHN), Quincy QUEK (SIN), LAM Zhiqun (SIN), Scott BARR (AUS).

68 – Prayad MARKSAENG (THA), Anthony KANG (USA), Berry HENSON (USA), KIM Hyung-sung (KOR), PAN Cheng-tsung (am, TPE), WU Ashun (CHN), Rory HIE (INA), Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA).

69 – Kalle SAMOOJA (FIN), Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA), Scott HEND (AUS), Hiroshi IWATA (JPN), Yuta IKEDA (JPN).

70 – Stephen LEWTON (ENG), Nils FLOREN (SWE), Kwanchai TANNIN (THA), Prom MEESAWAT (THA), James BYRNE (SCO), Jaakko MAKITALO (FIN).

71 – Darren BECK (AUS), PARK Ju-hyuk (KOR), JOO Heung-chol (KOR), Gunn CHAROENKUL (THA), LAM Chih Bing (SIN), Niall TURNER (IRL), Daisuke MARUYAMA (JPN), Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA), Tomohiro KONDO (JPN), Javi COLOMO (ESP).

72 – Kodai ICHIHARA (JPN), Miguel TABUENA (PHI), BAEK Seuk-hyun (KOR), Jonathan MOORE (USA), Chawalit PLAPHOL (THA), Ben FOX (USA), Grant JACKSON (ENG), Yosuke ASAJI (JPN).

For the draw and full hole-by-hole scores from IFQ Asia visit TheOpen.com.

Guan is expected to be a contender for one of the four spots available in The Open, at Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, Thailand where he won the AAC last November.

The 14 year-old is aiming to secure a place in his second major championship at The Open, which takes place from 14-21 July, after qualifying for the Masters Tournament in April.

“I have played at some professional golf tournaments before and it is always great to play with the professional golfers. I can learn so much from them and the experience of playing at the professional events. So I am looking forward to IFQ-Asia,” said Guan.

Cheng-tsung Pan of Taiwan, who finished runner-up to Guan in November and is the highest ranked Asian player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings at fifth, is joined in the field by two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion, Hideki Matsuyama who became the first Japanese amateur to play in the Masters Tournament in 2011.

Matsuyama is part of a strong Japanese contingent which includes Kodai Ichihara, who qualified from IFQ-Asia last year to play in The Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, Yuta Ikeda, who played in The Open at Royal St George’s in 2011, last year’s Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open champion Masanori Kobayashi and Masamichi Ito, who turned professional in December and was last year’s Faldo Series Asia Champion.

Scotland’s James Byrne, who turned professional after helping Great Britain and Ireland win the Walker Cup in 2011 and currently plays on the Asian Tour, is plotting a return home for The Open.

Home interest in the event centres on rising Thai star Arnond Vongvanij who is eager to join countrymen Thaworn Wiratchant and Thongchai Jaidee at Muirfield. The diminutive Arnond missed out by one shot to join in the play-off for the final berth last year and hopes to make amends in the two-day qualifying event at his home course. Thaworn qualified for The Open Championship courtesy of winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2012 and Jaidee qualified by finishing in the top 30 in last year’s Race to Dubai.

Fellow Thai players Prom Meesawat and Kiradech Aphibarnrat will be among the hopefuls along with Indians Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri, who won last year’s qualifier, Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh and Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines. Guan Tianlang‘s compatriots Wu Ashun and Hu Mu, will also feature in the field.

Arnond’s career has been on the rise since joining the Asian Tour last year. In his first season, he claimed four top-10s including one win at the King’s Cup on home soil. He hopes to add a Major appearance to his fledging career but is wary of the strong challengers in the 78-man field.

“It is always exciting to get the chance to qualify for The Open Championship. I’m going to go into the qualifier with a thought that I have nothing to lose. I’m going to try to play well and have fun,” said the 24-year-old.

“It would be an honour to play in The Open Championship because it is the oldest Major Championship in the world. The qualifier is only two rounds so that makes things a lot harder than a four-round tournament,” said Arnond.

Siddikur was the first player from his country to play and win on the Asian Tour and he is now hoping to be the first Bangladeshi to play in The Open Championship.

“If I do qualify, the popularity of golf in Bangladesh will go to an even higher standard. The Amata Spring course is quite long but I have shot a low number there before. I’m quite confident of making it this time,” said Siddikur.

Lahiri is determined to make a swift return to The Open Championship after making his debut last season where he finished tied 31st and notched up a memorable hole-in-one in the third round.

“I think it was a breakthrough debut for me to finish as the top Asian in The Open Championship last year. Playing with the best in the game and finishing ahead of a lot of big names gave me tremendous confidence in my ability. I also gained valuable experience of playing in severe conditions on links golf courses, something that’s not common in Asia,” he said.

International Final Qualifying for The Open continues at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club in South Africa on 5 and 6 March. It is followed by IFQ America at Gleneagles Country Club in Texas on 20 May and IFQ Europe at Sunningdale in England on 24 June.

Guan, the youngest player in the field, completed a wire-to-wire victory that has earned him an invitation to next year’s Masters Tournament. He has also secured a place in International Final Qualifying (IFQ) for The Open Championship along with runner-up Pan Cheng-tsung of Chinese Taipei, Asia’s No. 2 amateur, who shot a 65.

Australian teenager Oliver Goss (72) finished third at 12-under, two ahead of two-time champion Hideki Matsuyama (68), Asia’s No. 1 amateur.

When the Masters begins next April, Guan is set to become the youngest competitor in the history of the Tournament at 14 years, five months and 17 days. The previous record was established by Matteo Manassero in 2010, when the 16-year-old earned an invitation after winning the British Amateur Championship in 2009.

“I’m so excited. I’m really happy to become the youngest player at the Masters and looking forward to going there. I don’t know what’s going to happen there, but I know I just want to do well,” said Guan, who punched the air in delight after holing his five-foot par putt on 18 and was quickly embraced by his proud father.

“Pan really did a good job, so I just needed to focus on my game and get some more birdies and keep going. I knew Pan had a really good front nine, so I was checking the scores a bit on the back nine. I just thought if I got a couple more birdies I would be the champion,” added the Guangzhou-based schoolboy, the event’s first Chinese champion.

After posting earlier rounds of 66, 64 and 72, Guan started the final day two ahead of Goss. Guan, who weighs just 56 kilogrammes (125 pounds), opened up a five-shot lead with birdies at holes two and four, where Goss fell away with a double bogey.

‘Langlang’ dropped back with bogeys at seven and nine, but birdies at 11 and 14 kept him two clear of a charging Pan, who peppered the scoreboard with nine birdies.

Guan’s lead was cut to just one after a bogey on 16. Guan, who spends three months in Florida each summer, showed impressive composure to par the 141-yard, island-green 17th and the par-four 18th, where his 60-degree wedge shot from just off the green rolled five foot past the flag.

After inspecting the putt from several angles and wiping his face and hands, the laid-back teenager stepped up to hole the most important putt of his short career.

“I had a great up and down on the last hole. I was a little bit nervous over the putt,” said Guan, who averaged 250 yards with his driver.

“It was hot all week and it was a long course, not easy. Goss was hitting his drives 50 yards further than me and even his two-iron was 10 yards longer than my driver. However, I’ve had my mum and dad supporting me all week, and they gave me a little bit of advice so I just want to thank them.”

Pan put pressure on Guan with a sensational round. The Chinese Taipei star birdied the first, had a hat-trick of birdies from four to six and bogeyed nine. He started the back nine with four straight birdies, before his charge was again halted by a bogey on 14, but he responded with another birdie at 15 before coming home with three straight pars.

Goss, a quarter-finalist at this year’s US Amateur, also enjoyed a fine tournament. The Perth-based teenager recently won the Western Australia Open to add to his Western Australia State Amateur victory in March.

However, it will be Guan who now looks forward to following in the footsteps of 2010 and 2011 champion Matsuyama, who in April made the cut in the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club for the second straight year.

Guan, who plays at Lion Lake Golf Club in Guangzhou, is used to breaking records and making history. He was the youngest winner of the China Amateur Open last November, while his appearance in this year’s China Open made him the youngest player to compete on the European Tour.

Organised by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is the world’s most televised amateur golf tournament, aired in more than 150 countries.

For more stories, visit: www.aacgolf.com

After leading on the first two days with rounds of 66 and 64, Guan remained at 14-under, but the big-hitting Goss, a quarter-finalist at this year’s US Amateur, closed in on his playing partner with a bogey-free 69 at Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi.

The winner earns an invitation to next year’s Masters Tournament, while the champion and runner(s)-up earn spots in International Final Qualifying (IFQ) for The Open Championship.

Thailand’s Prin Sirisommai, who also played in the final group, carded a 72 to stay nine-under, one ahead of Korean Amateur champion Lee Soo-min, last year’s runner-up, who signed for a 69.

Chinese Taipei star Pan Cheng-tsung, Asia’s No. 2 amateur, shot 67 to move to seven-under, one ahead of defending champion Hideki Matsuyama (70), Asia’s No. 1, and his Japanese compatriot Mikumu Horikawa (67).

Guan started five ahead of Goss and Prin, but dropped back with bogeys on five and nine during a tension-filled front nine.

However, the Guangzhou-based schoolboy settled down on the back nine and picked up birdies on 11, 12 and 14, before bogeying the 18th for the second time in three days.

“We all started a little bit slow. I felt a bit nervous and everybody looked a little bit nervous to start with, and there was not much talking. I then started focus on my own game and felt pretty relaxed on the back nine, got a few birdies, so it was all right,” said Guan, winner of last year’s 11-12 division in the Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego.

“It was a different atmosphere because on the first two days I knew who I played with and we talked much more. Also, today, the pin locations were a little bit harder and a couple of the tees were set back, so it was a little bit more difficult for me.”

The slender Guan, who hits the ball about 250 yards with his driver, is seeking to become the event’s first Chinese winner, but will have to hold off the powerful and more experienced Goss, who won last week’s Western Australia Open to add to his Western Australia State Amateur victory in March.

“Goss hits the driver pretty far and every part of his game is pretty good. He doesn’t make big mistakes. He’s a very good player,” said ‘Langlang’, who trains in California for three months each summer.

The competitive Goss is determined to become the first Australian to win the championship and is expected to mount a strong charge on Sunday as he bids for an invitation to next year’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.

“I’m still in the hunt. I was three-under today, so I’m not disappointed, although I didn’t really give myself many opportunities and didn’t hole many putts,” said the Perth-based teenager, who heads to the University of Tennessee next January.

“Guan did well because the course was playing a lot tougher than the first two days. He doesn’t hit it as far as other players, so I think he did really well. I hit it longer than him, but I think he’s too young to be intimidated.”

Matsuyama showed his competitive spirit when he admitted he had not given up his bid for a third straight title, despite being eight shots off the pace.

“I really want to win, so I’ll do my best. I just want to win. I know Guan is very good, but I need to beat him,” said Matsuyama, who has made the cut on his two appearances at the Masters Tournament both earned through back-to-back wins in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

Organised by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A, the championship is the world’s most televised amateur golf tournament, aired in more than 150 countries, and features two hours of live broadcast on each of the four days and a 30-minute post-event highlights show.

For live scoring, visit: http://www.aacgolf.com/scores/