The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) will make its first visit to Vietnam in 2027. The championship's founding partners — the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A — announced on 28 October 2026 that Hoiana Shores Golf Club near Hoi An will stage the event on 28–31 October 2027. The following edition is scheduled for New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney on 2–5 November 2028. These are future host announcements, not tournament results from the 2026 championship in New Zealand.
Vietnam's first opportunity to host
The 18th AAC in 2027 will be the first held in Vietnam. Hoiana Shores, a coastal links-style course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and opened in 2019, is built amid dunes near the historic town of Hoi An. Ocean winds, exposed fairways and strategically placed bunkers should provide a different examination from a sheltered inland course. The site previously hosted the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific in 2025, giving it experience with elite regional amateur competition.
The selection also recognizes the growth of golf in Vietnam. Hosting does not guarantee a home winner or a particular sporting outcome, but it offers local amateurs, coaches and clubs a prominent international stage and a reason to develop competitive pathways.
Sydney follows with a different coastal challenge
The 19th championship will move to New South Wales Golf Club on 2–5 November 2028. Australia hosted earlier editions at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 2014 and 2023, making 2028 the country's third turn as host but the first for this specific Sydney course. Its coastal setting promises an emphasis on wind management, landing areas and control of the ball after it touches down.
The sequence matters: the championship is expanding to a first-time host nation in 2027 while returning to an established golf market in 2028, without repeating the Australian venue previously used. Venue diversity can challenge players with contrasting conditions rather than rewarding mastery of a single style of golf.
A direct path to the majors
Created in 2009 by the APGC, Masters Tournament and The R&A, the AAC has consequences well beyond the amateur trophy. Its champion earns an invitation to the following year's Masters and an exemption into The Open, while the runner-up or joint runners-up gain access to Final Qualifying for The Open. These are tournament-specific opportunities, not automatic professional tour cards.
Former participants include Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Smith and Ryan Fox. Their careers illustrate the championship's role in regional development, although no future result should be inferred from that history.
Confirmed facts versus future competition
As of 29 October 2026, the host courses and dates for 2027 and 2028 are confirmed. The entry lists, tee times and winners of those future events are not. The separate 17th AAC takes place at Te Arai Links in New Zealand on 29 October–1 November 2026; its live or eventual leaderboard should not be confused with this venue announcement.
Sources: Field Level Media, 28 October 2026; Golfweek, 28 October 2026; AAC championship background.
