Thailand v Japan – Amata Friendship Cup aims to raise the game for golf in Asia
Amata Spring Country Club, which boasts one of South East Asia’s most highly rated golf courses, today announced an innovative new competition which will see the best men and women golfers from Thailand and Japan go head to head in the Amata Friendship Cup, to be held on 21st-23rd December 2018.
In making the announcement, the Chonburi course, which has 60 percent Japanese membership, set out its aims for the tournament, which will feature mixed teams in both foursome and four ball matches between the two nations.
Chairman of the Board of the Amata Spring Country Club, Khun Asa Sarasin, explained, “Our vision has focused on creating a new dynamic that will positively impact golf in Thailand. The narrative behind men and women, professionals and amateurs competing together in their national colours is a compelling one in our minds. Our ambition is threefold: celebrate and embrace the special relationship between Thailand and Japan, provide and exciting opportunity for up and coming golfers to compete side-by-side with their heroes and, finally, to allow Asia’s best men and women to compete together for the same prize.”
Present at the packed press conference were team captains, Boonchu Ruangkit and Virada Niraphatpongporn for Thailand and Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki and Miho Koga for Japan. The captains, all of whom have competed in and won tournaments at the highest levels of the sport, will be responsible for team selection and managing pairings. Although the announcement of the final teams of 12 is expected in October, early selections were revealed.
For Thailand Boonchu named world number 33 ranked Kradech Aphibarnrat and Thongchai Jaidee, while Viradee announced that recent British Open runner-up, Moriya Jutanagarn and her sister, Ariya will be joined by Pornanong Phatlum and amateur sensation, Atthaya Thitikul.
“We have some of the most exciting players on all tours around the world right now and to bring them together as as one team will be something every golf and sports fan in Thailand and Japan will love seeing,” added Virada.
Ozaki and Koya revealed that Satoshi Kodaira, ranked world number 40, and Japan’s top female golfer, Nasa Hataoka, will be joined by Japan Tour stars Ryuku Tokimatsu and Kodai Ichihara and European Tour regular, Hideto Tanihara.
“We are ready for this exciting challenge and will be doing all we can to ensure we do our country proud and put up a strong performance,” commented Joe Ozaki, the 32 time winner of the Japan Golf Tour.
The event format will follow that of the Ryder Cup: a three day competition comprising team-based and individual sessions, with each team accumulating points from the outcome of each match. The big differences are that men, women and amateurs will be playing together in mixed teams.
Tournament Director, David Townend added that there will be a strong emphasis on youth development, with opportunities for youngsters to get coaching from some of the players and give them a taste of top level golf.
Responding to a question about the future of the Amata Friendship Cup, Townend added, “When you start a new event, you don’t really know how it will take on. We think it is a wonderful concept for the game of golf and hope that it will be something that will continue each year with the potential that it could grow beyond the nations of Thailand and Japan.
“We want this to be specifically a tournament about Asia. We see that growth in both the men’s and women’s games throughout the region is very strong. This year, with the support of the sporting public and the media it will be a great success. We have captains who are world class and also great personalities who will do their very best to make it grow and continue.”
Sponsors of the inaugural tournament are Presenting Partner, Toyota, together with Amata Corporation, SCB, SCG, Singha and Ricoh.
Promotion of the Amata Friendship Cup will be led by the soon to be launched website, amatafriendshipcup.com and supplemented by extensive coverage on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Separate announcements will be made about ticketing and live TV coverage.
