Featured Players
By Joy Chakravarty
Since its inception, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship has platformed future superstars from the region, with its winners earning opportunities all golfers dream of. The 16th edition of the Championship, to be held at the Majlis Course of Emirates Golf Club from October 23-26, promises to be no different. Jointly organized by Augusta National Golf Club, The R&A and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Championship attracts the finest amateur talent from across the region, fast-tracking the champion towards stardom by providing him with opportunities to play at the Masters and The Open and entrenching him in the consciousness of the golf industry. As 120 players prepare to showcase their skills on a golf course that not only brought the ‘green revolution’ to the Middle East, but is also known for its strategic and timeless design, a few notable players to watch are below:
Ziqin Zhou
Age: 19; Country: China; WAGR No. 125
Zhou scripted a furious finish under the shadow of Mount Fuji last year but fell one stroke short of compatriot Wenyi Ding despite a Championship-low round of 65 in the third round. Chinese players have won the Asia-Pacific Amateur five times – the most by any country – and the Shenzhen resident will lead the challenge in Dubai this year to add another title to the record books. A sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley, Zhou’s most recent finish was fifth at The Tindall in Washington, his best individual finish of his collegiate career so far.
Fifa Laopakdee
Age: 19; Country: Thailand; WAGR No. 56
Pongsapak Laopakdee, nicknamed ‘Fifa’ after football’s world governing body, is currently the top-ranked player in the field. The junior at Arizona State University has never missed the cut in three previous appearances but is ready to step up after enjoying a superb run in recent college events in the United States. Fifa showed he is in good shape for the Championship as he recently finished sixth in the Sahalee Players Championship. In the past year, he has won two collegiate events – the Papago Individual and the Thunderbird Invitational – and finished runner-up in the highly-regarded Cabo Collegiate.
Harry Takis
Age: 21; Country: Australia; WAGR No. 117
Takis forced everyone to take notice of his immense talent with top-four finishes in the Australian Master of Amateurs and the Australian Men’s Amateur Championship and hasn’t looked back. In July, he won the Singapore Open by a whopping 11 shots, demonstrating his resilience in similar hot conditions expected in Dubai this October. The Brisbane resident hasn’t let his form dip with a runner-up finish last month in the Sahalee Players Championship. A sophomore at San Diego State University, he is teammates with The Cayman Islands’ Justin Hastings, who played the Masters and The Open earlier this year after winning the Latin American Amateur Championship. He won’t be low on motivation after hearing all the stories from Hastings.
Ratchanon “TK” Chantananuwat
Age: 18; Country: Thailand; WAGR No. 106
Chantananuwat is now a sophomore at Stanford University and makes his second Championship start after a heartbreaking loss in the 2022 edition in his home country, where a painful crick in the neck dropped him from the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage to tied 13th. After a few top-20 finishes early in the year, Chantananuwat hasn’t had a memorable 2025, but shot a 64 in the TrustGolf Asian Mixed event in Thailand on his last visit to the continent. Winner of the 2022 TrustGolf Asian Mixed Cup on the Asian Tour, he is the youngest winner of an Official World Golf Ranking event at the age of 15 years and 37 days.
Ahmad Skaik
Age: 28; Country: UAE; WAGR No. 2531
Out of the 120-player field, Skaik easily has the most experience playing the Majlis Course, giving him the chance to take advantage of home conditions. When the Championship was held at Dubai Creek in 2021, he became only the second player from his country to make the cut in the history of the event. The Emirati golfer has kept himself sharp by participating in several events on the development tours in Europe and Asia and was part of the national team that recently attended a special training camp in Morocco. The left-hander has had complications with a nagging back injury but is back on track to make his sixth Championship start.
Rintaro Nakano
Age: 21; Country: Japan; WAGR No. 158
Japan has a proud history in the Asia-Pacific Amateur, including back-to-back wins by national hero Hideki Matsuyama at the event in 2010 and 2011. The team was a force at home last year when all 10 players made the cut. Nakano was the strongest challenger last year as he stayed in contention throughout the week before finishing third. Nakano went on to reach the Round of 32 in the U.S. Amateur this year and the Round of 16 in The Amateur Championship. If Japan keeps its winning streak in Dubai (Keita Nakajima won in 2021 at Dubai Creek), Nakano will be a player to watch.
Jeffrey Shen
Age: 22; Country: Hong Kong; WAGR No. 109
Since July, Jeffrey Shen has finished inside the top three in all four events he has played in, including a runner-up finish in the Singapore Open Amateur and a win in a local professional event in China. The Hong Kong native will be making his second Championship start. Last time the Asia-Pacific Amateur was played in Dubai, a national treasure was unearthed for Hong Kong. Taichi Kho lost in the playoff to Nakajima, but his career took off from there as he has since collected a title on the Asian Tour and a gold medal at the Asian Games last year. Hong Kong will now be hoping for a similar career path for the promising Shen.
Minsu Kim
Age: 17; Country: Korea; WAGR No. 245
Minsu Kim, a highly regarded teenager who plays a fearless brand of golf, is expected to be in contention in Dubai. Kim has won amateur tournaments by the dozen, but earlier this year, he tied for fourth in the Asian Tour’s Kolon The 67th Korean Open with a final-round 68 on one of the toughest course setups in Korean professional golf.
