India will send a three-man contingent — Arkesh Bhatia, Anshul Mishra, and Ribhav Verma — to the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, set to be played at Te Arai Links' South Course in New Zealand from 29 October to 1 November 2026. The trio chase prizes widely regarded as the most coveted in amateur golf: the winner earns a gold medal plus invitations to the 2027 Masters Tournament and The 155th Open at St Andrews, along with exemption into The 131st Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush.

India's Challengers: Who They Are

Anshul Mishra, 18, is the most seasoned of the three at this level. He finished tied seventh at last year's edition in Dubai and is making his second consecutive appearance in the championship. The reigning 2024 All India Amateur champion, Mishra has chosen to remain an amateur even as fellow finalists from that event — Sukhman Singh and Harman Sachdeva — have since turned professional. He is currently ranked 382nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Arkesh Bhatia, 27, returns to the Asia-Pacific Amateur after a five-year absence. His debut in 2021 ended with a missed halfway cut, but the Dubai-based golfer has since sharpened his game with notable results in tournaments in Serbia, climbing to 344th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Ribhav Verma rounds out the Indian team following a productive run on the Indian Golf Union (IGU) circuit — he claimed the IGU Hyderabad Amateur title in 2026 and the Kolkata Masters in 2025, and is currently ranked 463rd in the world amateur standings.

The Championship and What Is at Stake

The 17th edition of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will feature 120 players from 39 countries. The event returns to New Zealand for only the second time, nine years after it was last held at Royal Wellington Golf Club. Defending champion Fifa Laopakdee of Thailand, who became the first Thai golfer to win the title at last year's Dubai edition, subsequently made his debut at both the Masters and The Open — a vivid illustration of the championship's professional springboard potential.

The Asia-Pacific Amateur was established in 2009 as a joint initiative between the Masters Tournament, The R&A, and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, with a mandate to develop the sport across the region. Alumni of the championship have collectively won 33 PGA Tour titles and more than 160 events across major professional tours, underlining the platform's prestige.

The Venue: Te Arai Links South Course

Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2022, the South Course at Te Arai Links is a par-71 layout measuring 6,842 yards. Situated roughly 75 minutes from Auckland, the links-style track offers 16 ocean-view holes overlooking the Pacific Ocean, with firm, fast fescue surfaces set among natural dunes — conditions that will reward ball-striking precision and course management over power alone.

Notable Alumni and the Championship's Legacy

The roll of honour reads like a who's who of modern professional golf. Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur winner, went on to claim the 2021 Masters title. Cameron Smith won The 150th Open, and Ryan Fox lifted the Claret Jug at The 154th Open. Other notable alumni include Japan's Takumi Kanaya (2018 champion) and Keita Nakajima (2021 champion), Australia's Cameron Davis and Min Woo Lee, South Korea's Si Woo Kim, and Chinese Taipei's C.T. Pan.

For Bhatia, Mishra, and Verma, the immediate challenge is assembling four consistent rounds on an unfamiliar links layout against a field drawn from the continent's best. The broader prize — a career-altering invitation to Augusta and St Andrews — makes every shot count.