Singapore: Next week’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), one of the world’s leading amateur golf events, will be televised across 160 countries and reach millions of homes around the world.
The Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A – the event’s Founding Partners – have announced that there will be three hours of live coverage on each of the four competition days when the 10th edition of the championship is played on the New Tanjong Course at Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Club, a Golf Course Facility Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.
One of the key elite events on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), the championship, is supported by six Proud Partners – AT&T, 3M, Delta, Mercedes-Benz, Samsung and UPS – and two Scoring Partners, Rolex and IBM.
This year’s AAC (October 4-7) will continue to raise the profile of golf in the region and give the players the opportunity to compete on the world stage.
A full field of 120 amateurs from 39 countries will vie for what has often been described as the ultimate prize for them. The champion earns an invitation to the 2019 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and a place in The 148th Open at Royal Portrush, provided he retains his amateur status. The runner(s)-up will gain a spot in The Open Qualifying Series.
The broadcast will include three hours of high-definition coverage, and a 30-minute highlight show will also be produced after the conclusion of the event. All live coverage will also be streamed on the official event website, www.AACgolf.com, supplemented by unique video and editorial content available on the website throughout the championship.
Kei Muratsu, APGC Chairman, said: “With the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, we want to grow the game in the region and also showcase the wealth of talent that we already have. Our partners and broadcasters play a very important role in this entire process.
“The AAC is the world’s most televised amateur golf tournament. We are very thankful for the continued support of our broadcast partners, who, along with our Proud Partners and Scoring Partners, make this endeavour and its success possible.
“We look forward to creating more heroes this year and bringing the action at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore to millions of 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 ninth AAC. Frank Nobilo, one of New Zealand’s most successful golfers and CBS analyst in the United States, will return for the seventh consecutive year. CBS host Amanda Balionis and Fox Sports Australia broadcaster Paul Gow will handle player interviews and on-course reporting duties.
With a host of broadcast partners around the globe, golf fans can follow the AAC through TV channels covering key markets on five continents. Live coverage in Singapore and most parts of Asia will be on Fox Sports. Three hours of live coverage begins at 3 pm local October 4, and will move half an hour earlier to 2:30 pm on October 5.
Coverage of the weekend rounds, after the top-60 players and ties make the cut, air from 12 noon to 3 pm October 6-7.
In addition to Fox Sports, broadcasters in various markets include iQiyi in China, SBS Sports in Korea, Tokyo Broadcasting System in Japan, Fox Sports in Australia, Sky Sports in New Zealand, ESPN2 in the United States, ESPN in Latin America, SuperSport in Southern Africa, TSN in Canada, Eurosport in Europe and OSN in the Middle East.
The event at Sentosa promises to be a festival of golf in a special year for the championship, which has been a springboard for players such as two-time champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan (2010 and 2011), China’s Guan Tianlang (2012 winner who went on to become the youngest ever to make the cut at the Masters) and Australian Curtis Luck (2016), who just received his PGA Tour card.