Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation

The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, commonly known as the APGC, is the regional governing and development body for amateur golf associations across the Asia-Pacific region. It brings together more than 42 national golf federations and coordinates competitions, championships, and international matches intended to develop the sport and provide a pathway for elite amateur golfers. Unlike a commercial golf equipment or apparel brand, the APGC is an institutional sports organization whose public-facing identity is built around governance, championship delivery, regional representation, and the promotion of golf. The organization traces its origins to discussions held during the 1962 Eisenhower Trophy at Kawana in Japan. Representatives associated with the Philippines, Japan, and Chinese Taipei proposed a tri-nation competition, leading to the first Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship in the Philippines in 1963. A trophy donated by Shun Nomura became the Nomura Cup, and the Amateur Golf Confederation of Asia was established around the competition. The body subsequently developed into the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, expanding its membership and its program of regional amateur events. For much of its history, the APGC also had a direct role in professional golf through regional tours. In 1969 it assumed responsibility for the Asia Golf Circuit, a series of national opens conducted by member golf associations. The organization later launched the Asian Ladies Circuit in 1987 with a five-year sponsorship from Kosaido Development Corporation. The emergence of the Asian Tour, launched by the Asian Professional Golfers Association in 1995, created a competing professional structure. The APGC tours declined and the circuit ultimately folded in 1999, ending roughly three decades of direct involvement in professional-tour operations. The APGC's contemporary focus is primarily amateur golf. Its championships include the Nomura Cup, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship, the Queen Sirikit Cup, the Asia-Pacific Senior Amateur Championship, and the Asia-Pacific Junior Championship. The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is organized in cooperation with the Masters Tournament and The R&A. Its winner receives an invitation to the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, while the leading players also gain a route to the Open Championship. The women's championship provides a comparable elite regional platform for women amateurs. The confederation's events rotate among host countries and territories, helping distribute competitive opportunities and visibility throughout the region. Past hosts identified in reference material include China, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, and New Zealand. The APGC also organizes the Bonallack Trophy and Patsy Hankins Trophy in cooperation with the European Golf Association, giving leading Asia-Pacific amateurs international team-match opportunities against European players. The R&A began supporting the APGC in 2002 by offering financial assistance for the running of the Nomura Cup. That relationship reflects the APGC's position within the international amateur-golf ecosystem and its role in developing competitions that connect national federations with major global golf institutions. The organization remains active as a regional promoter and competition organizer, with its identity centered on amateur championships, youth and senior participation, women's golf, and cross-border cooperation among national associations.

The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation originated in a regional effort to create structured amateur competition among Asian golf associations. During the 1962 Eisenhower Trophy at Kawana, Japan, a proposed tri-nation tournament involving the Philippines, Japan, and Chinese Taipei provided the immediate impetus for a broader institutional arrangement. The inaugural Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship took place in the Philippines in 1963. Shun Nomura donated the trophy for the competition, which became known as the Nomura Cup, and the Amateur Golf Confederation of Asia was formed. The Nomura Cup became the central team championship around which the confederation developed. As additional national golf associations joined, the organization broadened its geographic reach and its responsibilities. Its work came to include the promotion of golf, coordination among member federations, and the staging of regional amateur championships. The organization is now known as the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, or APGC, and has more than 42 member federations across Asia-Pacific. The APGC's historical role was not limited to amateur competition. In 1969, it assumed responsibility for the Asia Golf Circuit, which consisted of national open tournaments run by the same national associations that made up the confederation. This gave the APGC a direct role in professional golf and helped connect individual national opens into a regional competitive circuit. In 1987, it expanded the tour portfolio by launching the Asian Ladies Circuit, supported by a five-year sponsorship from Kosaido Development Corporation. The professional-tour model later faced structural competition. The Asian Professional Golfers Association launched the Asian Tour in 1995, creating a rival platform for professional tournaments in the region. The APGC tours subsequently declined, and the circuit folded in 1999. This ended approximately 30 years of direct APGC involvement in professional-tour administration and marked a strategic shift back toward amateur golf and federation-led development. The confederation's amateur championship portfolio expanded significantly. The Queen Sirikit Cup, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Ladies Golf Team Championship, dates from 1979 and was founded by the Thailand Ladies Golf Association. The Asia-Pacific Senior Amateur Championship began in 1986, followed by the Asia-Pacific Junior Championship in 2009. The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship also began in 2009 through cooperation involving the APGC, the Masters Tournament, and The R&A. Its winner receives an invitation to the Masters Tournament, and the event provides a pathway to the Open Championship. The Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship was introduced in 2018 as an elite regional competition for women amateurs. The APGC also developed international team matches with the European Golf Association. The Bonallack Trophy and Patsy Hankins Trophy, both dating from 1998, provide men's and women's team-match formats that connect leading Asia-Pacific amateurs with European counterparts. The R&A began supporting the APGC in 2002 by offering financial assistance for the running of the Nomura Cup. This support reinforced the confederation's place within the wider international amateur-golf system. APGC championships rotate among countries and territories across the region, including China, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, and New Zealand. In its current form, the organization is principally a regional amateur-golf federation and event organizer, with activities spanning elite competition, junior and senior golf, women's golf, national-association cooperation, and international sporting relationships.

1. 2018Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship begins

   A new elite regional championship for women amateur golfers was added to the APGC calendar.

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2. 2009Asia-Pacific Junior and Amateur Championships begin

   The APGC launched the Asia-Pacific Junior Championship and the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

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3. 2002The R&A begins supporting the Nomura Cup

   The R&A offered financial support for the running of the Nomura Cup.

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4. 1999APGC professional circuit folds

   The APGC tour structure folded, ending the confederation's roughly 30-year direct involvement in professional-tour operations.

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5. 1998Bonallack and Patsy Hankins Trophy matches begin

   The APGC began organizing these international matches in cooperation with the European Golf Association.

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6. 1995Asian Tour creates a competing professional structure

   The Asian Professional Golfers Association launched the Asian Tour, competing with the APGC's professional-tour activities.

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7. 1987Asian Ladies Circuit launches

   The APGC launched the Asian Ladies Circuit with a five-year sponsorship from Kosaido Development Corporation.

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8. 1986Asia-Pacific Senior Amateur Championship begins

   The APGC's regional championship program expanded to include senior amateur golfers.

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9. 1979Queen Sirikit Cup begins

   The Asia-Pacific Amateur Ladies Golf Team Championship, known as the Queen Sirikit Cup, was established by the Thailand Ladies Golf Association.

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10. 1969APGC takes responsibility for the Asia Golf Circuit

    The confederation assumed responsibility for a regional circuit composed of national opens organized by member associations.

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11. 1963First Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship

    The inaugural championship was held in the Philippines, with the trophy donated by Shun Nomura becoming the Nomura Cup. The Amateur Golf Confederation of Asia was formed.

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12. 1962Tri-nation tournament proposed at the Eisenhower Trophy

    During the Eisenhower Trophy at Kawana in Japan, a proposed competition involving the Philippines, Japan, and Chinese Taipei set the foundation for a regional amateur-golf federation.

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A regional governing and development federation for amateur golf, positioned as the principal organizer of major Asia-Pacific amateur championships and as a bridge between national golf associations and international institutions such as The R&A, the Masters Tournament, and the European Golf Association.

• Nomura CupMen's amateur team championship1963

  The Nomura Cup is the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship and the APGC's foundational event. It began with the first Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship in 1963 and is contested by national teams from the region. The trophy was donated by Shun Nomura. The R&A has provided financial support for the event since 2002.

• Queen Sirikit CupWomen's amateur team championship1979

  The Queen Sirikit Cup is the Asia-Pacific Amateur Ladies Golf Team Championship. Founded by the Thailand Ladies Golf Association, it provides a national-team competition for leading women amateurs in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Asia-Pacific Senior Amateur ChampionshipSenior amateur championship1986

  This regional championship extends the APGC's competition program to senior amateur golfers. It forms part of the confederation's broader effort to support participation and high-level competition across different age groups.

• Asia-Pacific Junior ChampionshipJunior amateur championship2009

  The Asia-Pacific Junior Championship is a regional event for developing golfers. Its inclusion in the APGC program supports youth competition and helps national federations create an international pathway for junior players.

• Asia-Pacific Amateur ChampionshipElite amateur championship2009

  Organized in cooperation with the Masters Tournament and The R&A, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is one of the region's leading individual amateur events. Its winner receives an invitation to the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, while the event also provides a route to the Open Championship.

• Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific ChampionshipWomen's elite amateur championship2018

  Introduced in 2018, the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship provides an elite regional platform for women amateurs and complements the APGC's long-running team championship for women.

• Bonallack TrophyInternational amateur team match1998

  The Bonallack Trophy is an international amateur team match organized by the APGC in cooperation with the European Golf Association. It creates a competitive representative format between leading golfers from the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

• Patsy Hankins TrophyWomen's international amateur team match1998

  The Patsy Hankins Trophy is the women's counterpart to the Bonallack Trophy and is organized through cooperation between the APGC and the European Golf Association.

• 1987Asian Ladies Circuit launch

  Asia-Pacific

  The APGC launched the Asian Ladies Circuit with a five-year sponsorship from Kosaido Development Corporation, expanding its tour activity into women's professional golf.

  Outcome. The circuit formed part of the APGC's professional-tour portfolio before the confederation's tours later declined and folded in 1999.

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• 2002Support arrangement with The R&AOther

  The Nomura Cup was the APGC's established regional team championship and required sustained event support.

  What changed. The R&A offered financial support for running the Nomura Cup.

  Aftermath. The relationship strengthened the Nomura Cup's institutional position within international amateur golf.

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• 1999End of APGC professional-tour operationsStrategy

  The Asian Professional Golfers Association's Asian Tour, launched in 1995, created a competing professional-tour structure in the region.

  What changed. The APGC's tour folded, ending its direct involvement in professional golf and regional professional-tour operations.

  Aftermath. The APGC's activities became primarily focused on amateur championships, federation cooperation, and golf development.

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• 1969Assumption of Asia Golf Circuit responsibilityStrategy

  The APGC's member associations were already operating national opens that could be connected into a regional circuit.

  What changed. The confederation assumed responsibility for running the Asia Golf Circuit.

  Aftermath. This began the APGC's direct involvement in regional professional-tour administration, which lasted until the circuit folded in 1999.

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• 2002The R&A begins financial support for the Nomura Cup

  The R&A began providing financial support for the operation of the Nomura Cup, strengthening institutional cooperation around the APGC's flagship team championship.

  M&AOther
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• 1987Asian Ladies Circuit launches with Kosaido sponsorship

  The APGC introduced the Asian Ladies Circuit under a five-year sponsorship arrangement with Kosaido Development Corporation.

  Product launchCampaign
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• 1969APGC assumes responsibility for the Asia Golf Circuit

  The confederation took over operation of the Asia Golf Circuit, a series of national opens organized by member golf associations.

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• 1963Amateur Golf Confederation of Asia is formed around the Nomura Cup

  Following a proposal made during the 1962 Eisenhower Trophy, the first Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship was held in the Philippines. The event and its trophy became the foundation for the regional confederation that later developed into the APGC.

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1. Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation
2. Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship
3. Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship
4. The R&A Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship
5. Nomura Cup results
6. Queen Sirikit Cup results
7. Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup
8. Asia-Pacific Senior Amateur Championship
9. Asia-Pacific Junior Championship
10. AAC Golf