As debate raged over Australia’s Test make-up in South Africa this week, another national selection has caused a stir — this time, on the golf course.
Some of Australasia’s best amateur golfers are this week competing for one of golf’s greatest offerings; a spot at The Masters and The Open, via the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in New Zealand.
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The prize was described by Frank Nobilo in commentary on Thursday as “the golden ticket in golf”.
But earlier, before a ball was even struck on the Kayo Sports broadcast at Te Arai Links on Thursday, the Australian team had already become a point of serious contention.
While the buck stops with national selectors when it comes to bold calls for the national cricket team — many still haven’t recovered from Scott Boland missing the third Test this week — there was no panel selecting the amateur golfers.
Instead of Golf Australia’s high performance team having the last say, the selections came via a predetermined criteria set by the tournament, co-created by The Masters and The R&A.
The result?
Australia’s eight-man squad has an average age just over 19-and-a-half — until you factor in Graham Hourn, 58, and Richard Heath, 55.
The presence of the veterans, including machine operator Hourn for a second-straight year, is this week’s elephant in the room.
And that was before Heath and Hourn carded first round scores for 12-over and eight-over respectively.
Jasper Stubbs won the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship for a spot at the Masters.Source: Supplied
Foxsports.com.au understands that their inclusion has secretly irked many within Australian golfing circles, although most have been unwilling to publicly state their discontent.
But their general sentiment has been captured by pro golfer and passionate amateur advocate, Mike Clayton, who held no such reservations when contacted by foxsports.com.au this week.
“They clearly have no shame,” Clayton said of the senior players.
“They are taking spots that they have no right to, via a flawed ranking system, rather than the kids the event is created for, some of whom could genuinely compete.
“There’s no relevance between senior golf and regular elite golf; it’s like Geoff Ogilvy being forced to have Steve Alker as an automatic pick on his Presidents Cup team from his play on the Champions Tour.”
The tournament uses the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) to determine the majority of its 120-player field with August 6 cut-off date.
The pair of controversial picks inadvertently exploited a loophole by amassing the majority of their ranking points in seniors events.
Meanwhile, the likes of Jonty Lunson, who missed out at the cut-off date and was only given an invite last week, is now ranked 108 spots better than Hourn, and 632 places higher than Heath.
Clayton, who is also the co-designer of Barnbougle Dunes, is a fan of the tournament — but did not hold back when it came to discussing what he believes Hourn and Heath should’ve done.
“(The tournament is) a great way for kids to get together, meet each other, and measure their games against each other,” he said. “It’s not a way for two seniors to satisfy their competitive urges in a field where they aren’t remotely competitive.
“It’s a disgrace after getting in through the qualifying criteria to not step aside for a young player to get a chance to play.”
The young players who will get a chance at the stunning course near Auckland includes some promising players of the future, such as top ranked player in the field Harry Takis, and Kayun Mudadana.
It’s been described as golf’s ‘golden ticket’.Source: Supplied
The pair are joined by Lunson, Harrison Gomez, Samuel Cascio and Wesley Hinton, alongside Hourn and Heath,
While no one suggests Hourn and Heath aren’t elite players in their own right, competing against the next generation, for what would be a life-changing opportunity to a young golfer, poses another question.
Ranked 406th in the world, Hourn is a back-to-back Queensland Senior Amateur champion with a +2.7 handicap, who recorded rounds of 79-75 last year in Dubai to miss the cut by three.
The former pro who is now amateur again, said he hopes he can still stir something for other players over 50, and for his children, even if his inclusion is controversial.
“Hopefully they feel that, anyway. Hope I’m an inspiration to my two boys, as well,” Hourn said.
Speaking of his chances, he added: “Look, how far they (younger players) hit it is one thing, but golf is a funny game, anything can happen, and just got to do your best.
World No.930 Heath is on debut at the AAC, and plays all of his golf — both senior and open amateur events — in Europe from his homebase in Switzerland.
The +4.4 handicap from Golf Club Lausanne is a three-time winner in the current WAGR ranking period. He was a representative player as a younger man before taking on a career in sports governance, including at the European Golf Association.
Now, he’s thrilled to be an Australian representative.
“That’s the biggest bonus for me, whether it’s going to be a good week or not, I can say I’ve played for Australia, and that’s something I’ve never been able to say before,” Heath said.
He added: “Very grateful for Graham being here because I don’t feel alone being on the Australian team. It’s great that it’s still open to us.
“I guess we qualified the same way as everybody else but the fact this opportunity has come up, for me, it’s been something … it’s a surprise.”
Major Mentorship
Very few within Australia know more about nurturing talented golfers than Ritchie Smith.
The coach of Minjee and Min Woo Lee, as well as Hannah Green, Smith is on-site as the Aussie Team Coach at Te Arai this week.
The West Australian swing guru was full of praise for the tournament concept, as well as the potentially career-changing rewards that Australians have received there in the past.
“The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is a great tournament, not only because it goes to great courses, but also the opportunities for young players to battle test their game and potentially get major starts that can be career changing,” Smith told foxsports.com.au.
“There’s a heap of talent within this group, and if we get the right conditions and the right application they could have a great week.”
That great week might not include a winner like Aussies Jasper Stubbs (2023), Harrison Crowe (2022), Curtis Luck (2016) and Antonio Murdaca (2014).
However, Smith believes winning isn’t the only positive element for the team in New Zealand this week, as Australia looks for its next great charge on the world stage.
“Developing players into the best possible golfer they can be is a big job, and the process to do that has a lot of steps that people outside the world of elite golf never see, or might even understand,” Smith said.
“Tournaments like this testing your game against other top players, and seeing how they approach things are one of those crucial steps on the way.
“Australians obviously have a good history at this event, but a lot goes into winning something like the AAC, so while we would love another a winner there’s much broader goals for the Australian team this week.”
The Australian team will take on minnows of golf like Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Pakistan, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as the best amateurs from the likes of Japan, New Zealand, Thailand and China.
All of which Takis sits atop of, according to the world rankings.
Having finished fourth in Dubai last year, Takis — making his third start at just 21, is none too fussed by his pre-tournament hype.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself, regardless whether I’m ranked the worst player in the field or the best player in the field. Everyone starts at even par,” the Royal Queensland member with a +7.6 handicap said.
Harry Takis of Australia is a favourite this week in New Zealand.Source: Getty Images
“Everyone kind of marks this event on their calendar at the start of the year. You only get a few chances to play in a major, U.S. Am, here, the Australian Open if I get into that.
“This is definitely a tournament I want to win. I’ve seen a lot of Aussies win it and seeing the opportunities they have had from those events.”
Also with eyes on the top prize is Mudadana, who was runner-up in this year’s Australian Amateur.
His home course’s windswept links style helps his claims this week in his second Asia-Pacific start.
“I’ve played a lot of links golf. Suits my game,” Mudadana a +5.5 handicap from New South Wales Golf Club said.
“It’s going to play into my favour that I know how to flight the ball and stuff like that.
“Not going into it as much for the experience and going into it to win it.”
Beyond Takis with three starts, and Mudadana and Hourn with two, it is an Australian team of debutants, all with handicaps that would make a weekend hacker’s eyes water.
Harrison Gomez, who plays off +4.4 at Nudgee Golf Club, won South Australian Amateur earlier this year, while Samuel Cascio – +3.7 at The Australian Golf Club – had two wins in world ranking events in Australia in 2026.
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Wesley Hinton (+3.6 handicap at Keperra Country Golf Club) earnt his place after a 2025 that included four wins.
The last man offers what would be a remarkable story if he can get into the mix.
Taking a step up every time he competes at a higher level, according to high-performance coach for Golf Tasmania Richard Cooney, Jonty Lunson did everything he could, with support from Golf Australia, to earn his place.
Starting the year with no ranking, Lunson claimed the Queensland Amateur before the qualifying window closed. After it did the Devenport Golf Club +5.3 handicaper was victorious at the Singapore Open Amateur.
The Taswegian is still likely coming to terms with being in New Zealand having teed it up last week against the pros at the Players Series South Australia, where he missed the cut by a shot.
“Got the call up Thursday afternoon after the first round at Willunga. Nice to be here … Good course,” Lunson, who at 17 bested past champion Stubbs in the 2024 Australian Interstate Series.
“I finished my first round at Willunga on Thursday, and then Matt Cutler pulled me aside to chat for five minutes, and said, you’ve got a spot in New Zealand next week for the APAC.
“I don’t think it really set in, when it happened but excited straightaway.”
The young Aussie’s excitement extends to their accommodation on-site this week.
“I think if I get a bit of coin when I’m older I might have to buy a pad out here like some of the Americans. It’s not a bad place to holiday,” Takis said.
Imagine what he might think of Augusta National and The Old Course at St Andrews if he manages a great week and starts in two majors next year.