Malaysia’s Anson Yeo
Malaysian teenager Anson Yeo is all pumped up for his maiden appearance in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) this October 27-30 at Amata Spring Country Club.
The 16-year-old talent has been in excellent form the last few months, turning in a string of fine performances including three victories on the Malaysian amateur circuit. Yeo’s most recent win came in last week’s Kedah Amateur Open in a playoff over Muhd Ikhmal Basry, after both golfers finished 54 holes tied on six-under-par.
Even without the points from the Kedah victory factored in, Yeo has already broken into the top-200 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) in 195th spot.
Created in 2009 as a joint initiative to develop the game by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A, the AAC offers its champion an invitation to play in the Masters Tournament and The Open, while the runner(s)-up gain a place in The Open Qualifying Series for The Open.
Group photo of participants of the AAC Academy at Amata Spring
“I’m really looking forward to my first AAC. It’s such a special event where the top players from almost every Asia-Pacific country compete against each other, and the winner gets the chance to play in two Majors,” said Yeo, who hails from Kuching, the capital of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak.
“I’ll try my best to do well at Amata Spring. My irons are really dialled in at the moment, but I still have to work more on my short game,” he added.
Yeo’s strong run was not restricted to local events. Barely a month ago, he featured for the International Team in the Junior Presidents Cup in North Carolina, chalking up an unbeaten record with two wins and a halve in the 11-13 defeat to the United States.
The AAC will be a reunion of sorts for the International Team as seven of Yeo’s team-mates will feature in this year’s championship – Australia’s Jeffrey Guan, China’s Wenyi Ding, Indonesia’s Rayhan Abdul Latief and Jonathan Xavier Hartono, New Zealand’s Joshua Bai and Jayden Ford, and Thailand’s Pongsapak Laopakdee.
“The Junior Presidents Cup was a great experience and I’m really looking forward to meeting my team-mates again in Bangkok during the AAC. This time we’ll be competing against each other, and we’ll all be trying our best to beat the golf course,” said Yeo, who was the first Malaysian to feature in the Junior Presidents Cup.
Good form aside, Yeo will have another bullet in his arsenal having played at Amata Spring in early September. The experience came during the AAC Academy, where selected participants are invited to attend a week-long camp conducted by professional coaches.
“It was a really valuable experience; the coaches were excellent, and they trained us very well. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity leading up to my first AAC,” said Yeo.
“Amata Spring is a really challenging golf course and the winds are really strong. You need to have a good long game to score, and I’ll be working hard on that.”
Yeo singled out Amata Spring’s signature par-three 17th with its ‘floating’ island green as his favorite hole. “It’s such a unique hole … and you have to take a boat to the green, which is so cool!”
The Malaysian squad for the AAC is now a record seven-strong. Yeo will be joined at Amata Spring Country Club by Khavish Varadan (WAGR No. 194), Marcus Lim (WAGR No. 364) and Nateeshvar Ganesh (WAGR No. 479), who all played in the 2021 championship in Dubai last year, and fellow debutantes Zubair Firdaus (WAGR No. 969), Isaac To (WAGR No. 1009) and Hariz Hezri (WAGR No. 1061).
Hariz Hezri (centre) is making his debut in the AAC
Hariz, who will turn 17 during the week of the AAC, also attended the AAC Academy with Yeo and is equally excited at making his maiden appearance in the region’s most prestigious amateur championship.
“I’m very excited to be playing in the AAC for the first time! I’ve been prepping with my coach and playing a lot of local tournaments.
“The AAC Academy camp gave me a lot of insights on how professionals get ready for events. From fitness to course management, there were plenty of tips and lessons which I’ve been applying to my own routine,” said Hariz.
The best finish by a Malaysian in the AAC is seventh, achieved by Mohd Iszaimi Ismail during the inaugural event in 2009 at Mission Hills Golf Club in China, and matched by Ervin Chang in 2018 at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.
Anson and his team-mates will certainly be going all out to best that record.
For more information about the AAC, please visit AACgolf.com.
