SOUTHERN ISLANDS, Singapore (UCFKnights.com) – After three rounds at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), Bobby Bai remains tied for third after shooting a 69(-1) on Friday.
Bai started out the front nine with four birdies and making the turn three-under. The junior is just two strokes off the leader heading into the fourth and final round.
Through three-rounds, Bai has gathered 14 birdies and 34 pars. Representing his home country of China, Bai is eight-under par heading into Sunday's action.
In the event of a tie after 72 holes, the winner is decided by a sudden-death playoff. The champion receives an invitation to compete in the 2019 Masters Tournament and direct entry into The 148th Open at Royal Portrush in 2019, conducted by The R&A.
The runner(s)-up receives a place in The Open Qualifying Series with the opportunity to qualify for The 148th Open at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Bai tees off at 8:45 p.m. ET Saturday night to begin the third out of four rounds. You can watch the fourth round live on ESPN3/WatchESPN from 12:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or on ESPN2 from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. to catch the delayed feed.
ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT
The tournament is a 72-hole, stroke play format, which will be held Thursday thru Sunday. A cut takes place after 36 holes for the leading 60 players plus ties. In the event of a tie after 72 holes, the winner is decided by a sudden-death playoff.
A full field of 120 players from 40 countries – up from 32 when the event was first held – will vie for what has often been described as the ‘ultimate prize’ for them. The champion will earn an invitation to the 2019 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and a place in The 148th Open at Royal Portrush in 2019. The runner(s)-up will gain a spot in The Open Qualifying Series.
The biggest endorsement of the AAC’s success is perhaps the fact that it has now been accorded the ‘Elite’ status by World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) – a privilege enjoyed by just a few other men’s amateur tournaments in the world –The Amateur Championship, the U.S. Amateur Championship, the European Amateur Championship, the NCAA Division I Championship and the World Amateur Team Championship.
There are as many as 12 players in the top 50 including two from China, one from India, Thailand and Chinese Taipei, and 20 players in the top 100.
If the biggest barometer of a championship’s success is the quality of its Roll of Honor, however, the AAC can proudly showcase champions like Hideki Matsuyama of Japan (winner in 2010 and 2011), Guan Tianlang of China (2012, who went on to become the youngest player to make the cut at the Masters at the age of 14 years and five months) and Curtis Luck of Australia (2016). In addition, the current list of top 100 professional players in the world features several past AAC participants, including Matsuyama, Cameron Smith (Australia), Satoshi Kodaira (Japan), Ryan Fox (New Zealand), Si-woo Kim (Korea) and C.T. Pan (Chinese Taipei).
Invitations for the championship are sent to the leading players from the 41 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) affiliated organizations. Each organization is automatically provided with two positions, which are to be filled by their highest-ranked players from the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).
If there is only one or no players from a member organization in the Ranking, a member organization is able to nominate one or two players accordingly, provided the player/s have a handicap of 5.4 or less.
The remainder of the field is filled by taking the next highest ranked players from the WAGR with the maximum number of players allowed from any organization being six. The only exception is for the host country, which is allowed to nominate an additional four players.
The 120-player field is annually comprised of the top male amateurs in the Asia-Pacific region representing the 41 Asia Pacific Golf Confederation member organizations.
Click here for more information on the AAC.