JAKARTA: Indonesian amateur Rayhan Latief has enjoyed a fresh dose of confidence ahead of his fifth appearance at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Te Arai Links, New Zealand, next week.
The 19-year-old sophomore at the University of North Texas finished solo fourth at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in Arkansas and tied for 12th at the Argent Financial Classic in Louisiana in recent weeks.
Following a career-best finish of tied 17th at the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Dubai last year, Rayhan will be keen to challenge for the prestigious title, with the champion earning an invitation to the Masters and an exemption into The Open Championship.
He believes his time in the U.S. has enabled him to become a better competitor as he looks to challenge the likes of defending champion Fifa Laopakdee of Thailand, last year’s runner-up Taisei Nagasaki of Japan, Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh and Filipino Jaden Dumdumaya from October 29 to November 1.
“I’ve made great progress this year with the UNT Men’s Golf team. They have a great program, and every day they track basically everything from my game, my physical preparation and my mental game,” said Rayhan.
“I think we have a really great team and great people who take care of me, from my body and my physical preparation to my golf game and my mental game. I’m very excited and very confident with the preparation I’ve had going into the AAC this year.”
He harbours dreams of becoming the first golfer from Indonesia to hoist the Asia-Pacific Amateur trophy and was inspired by seeing Fifa win in Dubai before subsequently competing at the Masters and The Open this year.
“I’m especially excited to play on such a special course like Te Arai Links,” he said. “I think it will be a great test. With the conditions and the difficulty of the course, whoever wins this year will deserve it.
“It’s been special for me to get to know someone like Fifa and to follow his journey. I’m happy for him and everything he has accomplished. I watched some of the live coverage (of Fifa). It was a really great experience for him. We’ve played together since the 2022 Junior Presidents Cup, so I was definitely very happy to see him play in those two big events and get that experience.”
As Rayhan prepares to head to New Zealand alongside fellow Indonesian competitors Randy Bintang, Kenneth Sutianto, William Wijaya, Jayawardana Dornan and Asa Najib Bhakti, a fifth consecutive appearance in the Championship will further fuel his determination to succeed.
“This tournament is very important to me. It’s an annual tournament that I prioritize every year because of how special the opportunity is. If you win, you get the chance to play in two major championships, so that’s definitely one of the reasons why it means so much,” he said.
“I think what makes the AAC unique is that every year you get to meet a lot of friends and new faces from different backgrounds, countries and cultures. I think that’s what makes the AAC so special and unique.
“The level of competition is always high. You have the best amateur players from across Asia-Pacific, so you know you’re going to have to play good golf to compete.”
He is not afraid to state his ambition to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur, although the best finish by an Indonesian was achieved by George Gandranata, who finished tied for 17th in Singapore in 2011 before Rayhan matched that result in Dubai last year.
“My personal goal for New Zealand is definitely to win the tournament. It’s going to be a tough challenge with the conditions and the course, but I’ve been practicing a lot in the wind here in Texas, so I’m confident going into Te Arai Links and I believe I can play well,” he said.
“It’s always been one of my goals to play in one of those two majors, especially the Masters and The Open. It would be amazing if I can pull it off this year. I’ve put in a lot of work into my preparation, and I feel like I’ve done everything I can to put myself in a position to win. Hopefully I can put it all together in New Zealand.”
The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship was launched in 2009 by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), The R&A and the Masters Tournament to further develop amateur golf in the region. Past competitors who have gone on to win major championships include Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, Australia’s Cameron Smith and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox. -- Agencies
