Featured Players
By Chuah Choo Chiang
All day long, Khanh Hung Le simply reminded himself to be grateful even when the going got tough at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship on Friday.
The Vietnamese rising star is not taking the privilege of being amongst the 120 golfers gathered at the majestic Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis course lightly, where the champion on Sunday will earn coveted invitations to the Masters Tournament and The Open next year.
No Vietnamese golfer has won the Asia-Pacific Amateur since it was inaugurated in 2009 as part of a vision by Augusta National Golf Club to boost the game’s development in the region, in which Le’s beloved nation is now regarded as the fastest growing golf country in the world in terms of the development of new golf courses.
In a challenging second round, Le stayed firmly on track for a crack a golf history after a battling 5-under 67 kept him in the joint-lead. The 17-year-old snared seven birdies against two dropped shots for a two-day total of 11-under 133, matched by Japan’s Rintaro Nakano and Australian Harry Takis, who fired matching 66s.
When his round threatened to unravel on the back nine with two bogeys after a blistering start where he birdied five of his opening 10 holes, Le simply reminded himself to be “grateful”.
“I'm grateful to be here and I'm just appreciating the journey and the experience for this year, AAC in Dubai. I just want to enjoy every moment. I don't really look too much into my golf game right now,” he said.
With his father Van Lan on caddying duties, the Florida-based high school student, who finished T24 in 2023, showed his character by fighting back with birdies on the 15th and 17th holes to ensure he remained tied for the lead with 36 holes to go.
“I think maybe I'm hitting my irons a bit better ... I'm hitting them pretty solid. Hopefully it stays the same,” he said.
“It was tough today. The greens got really firm in the afternoon, I'm just happy that I fight for every shot. It's a good round for me. I just feel like I have a strategy. I know it's tough but I feel like I can't ask for more because this is a great tournament. I'm enjoying it.
“Yes, today I started strong but I feel it was a little bit of a struggle during the middle of the round. Just remind myself to fight for every single shot.”
Anh Minh Nguyen’s tied seventh place finish at Royal Melbourne in 2023 remains as the best result by a Vietnamese golfer and Le knows he must stay on an even keel to give himself every chance this weekend.
“I think stay in the present,” said Le, who is his country’s first golfer to win the Southeast Asian Games individual gold medal in 2023.
“Right now, I should just focus on recovery, ice, take a shower and get nice sleep and get fully recovered for tomorrow, and then it's going to be a long day. Try to get myself ready.”
This weekend will also give him a chance to make up for the disappointment of missing out on last year’s edition in Japan where he could travel to the country due to a visa snag.
“Yeah, I was disappointed. I got a little bit more disappointed when my friends said it was a great one to play in. I got to see everyone play there and everyone inspires me a lot to keep working. I feel like I just try to take the positives out of it and help myself to just keep working,” said Le.
