Wednesday 02 / October / 2024
Muscat: Taiheiyo Club Gotemba, in the foothills of Mount Fuji, the flagship course among the Taiheiyo Club’s stable of 18 will play host to the 15th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) this week.
The region’s premier championship is returning to Japan this week for the first time since 2010, when Hideki Matsuyama triumphed on home soil at Kasumigaseki Golf Club near Tokyo.
Gotemba is situated 100 kilometres to the southwest of Japan’s capital and has previously hosted showpiece events, perhaps most notably the 2001 World Cup of Golf, which saw South African duo Ernie Els and Retief Goosen come out on top.
Gotemba underwent renovations in 2018, overseen by Rees Jones, with Matsuyama among those to take on a consultancy role – the first course design project the 2021 Masters champion and two-time AAC winner has been involved in.
The course, originally designed in 1977, was developed to make it more challenging – the 2016 and 2017 Taiheiyo Masters having been won by a combined score of 41-under-par, including Matsuyama shooting 23-under on his way to lifting the trophy for a second time eight years ago.
Length was not increased significantly but bunkers were altered, new ones added, greenside ponds reconfigured, and a selection of trees removed, opening up the picture-postcard views of Fuji – particularly prevalent when walking up the fifth fairway – and increasing the greens’ exposure to sunlight.
Winning scores in the Taiheiyo Masters, an event previously won by the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke, have reduced in recent years, while members are also said to be enjoying the fresh challenge offered by the redesign.
There is potential for dramatic late twists with a par-three 17th followed by a par-five to conclude a round on a course where level par sits at 72.
The penultimate hole is one of the highlights. Measuring 228 yards from the championship tees, with the wind drifting down the hill from the Fuji summit, the green is surrounded by a signature pond and several precariously placed bunkers.
The 18th then offers tantalising eagle opportunities. The 2020 Taiheiyo Masters saw Jinichiro Kozuma nail an approach from 230 yards that settled inches away from the cup and set up a routine putt for eagle, enough for him to come out on top by one shot in a congested leaderboard.
Whoever masters the layout and conditions between October 3rd – 6th will add their name to an illustrious list of champions, while also securing an invite to the 2025 Masters and The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush.
Oman will be represented by Ahmed Wahaibi and Azzan Rumhy.
Tee times for the first round tomorrow (Thursday) at 12.02 pm for Wahaibi and 12.13 pm for Rumhy.
Other Middle East countries participating are: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
