Thailand’s defence of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship has been put on hold for another year.
The 29th edition of the Nomura Cup had been rescheduled to take place in Hong Kong in June, 2021. However, with travel restrictions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic still in place, the organising committee – comprising the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Hong Kong Golf Association and The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club – has put back the championship until 2022.
The last Nomura Cup in Malaysia in 2017 featured a record entry of 23 countries and 92 players. Logistical arrangements for a similar turnout this year would have proved problematical. As of now, many of the participants would have to serve quarantine both on arrival in Hong Kong and upon return to their home country.
“For one week of golf, it would have taken up five weeks of time for a large number of the competitors. The organising committee felt this was not viable,” said John Hopkins, chairman of the APGC’s championship committee.
The 29th Nomura Cup was originally scheduled to be played in November 2019 but was rescheduled to June 2020 due to unrest and riots in Hong Kong. Then Covid-19 intervened, prompting another delay to June, 2021.
Hopkins said: “The priority of the APGC is the safety of all the players, delegates and staff that will be participating and attending any of our tournaments.
“The APGC remains committed to staging the Nomura Cup together with the Hong Kong Golf Association at The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club in 2022.”
In 2017, history was created when the Thai quartet of Kammalas Namuangruk, Atiruj Winaicharoenchai, Kosuke Hamamoto and Sadom Kaewkanja won the Nomura Cup at Sungai Long Golf & Country Club in Malaysia. It was the first time Thailand had won the tournament, which has been dominated by Australia, who have won 10 times, and Japan, who are seven-time winners.
The inaugural Nomura Cup was held in 1963 as a tri-nation tournament in the Philippines when the host nation took on Japan and China. Recent editions have attracted more than 20 nations, featuring teams of four players.
The biennial tournament is held over four days with 18 holes of stroke play on each day, the best three daily rounds counting for the team score. The winning team receives the Nomura Cup, which was named after Shun Nomura, the former vice-president of the Japan Golf Association who donated the Cup. The event also has an individual champion.
