Golf

TeamViệt Nam players hold the 2024 Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship's cup, the best national-level title of golf in history. Photos of VGA

Thanh Hà

Vietnamese golf has experienced an extraordinary rise in recent years, with the national team moving from relative obscurity to being one of Asia’s rising stars.

This transformation was highlighted by Việt Nam’s recent victory at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship.

Names such as Nguyễn Anh Minh, Lê Khánh Hưng, Nguyễn Đức Sơn, and Hồ Anh Huy have become synonymous with Việt Nam’s success on the golf course.

Despite their young age, these athletes have cemented Việt Nam's reputation in regional tournaments, bringing home victories that have made Việt Nam a country to watch in Asian golf.

From zero ...

Bạch Cường Khang, deputy general secretary of the Việt Nam Golf Association (VGA) and chairman of the National Golf Referees Council, shared a story that highlights the rapid change for the better of Vietnamese golf.

“In 2019, I led my team to the SEA Games, and it was disheartening to see our players as the only ones without team uniforms, and their equipment was the worst,” he said. “It was a tournament where Việt Nam held the ‘leading position’ if counted from the bottom up.”

Following that event, Khang and his team launched a series of initiatives aimed at revolutionising Vietnamese golf. These initiatives included rigorous training programmes, partnerships for international and local competitions, and systematic development efforts that provided a foundation for Việt Nam's promising young golfers.

Their perseverance bore fruit at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, where Việt Nam took home several medals: Hưng won individual gold, Minh secured an individual bronze, and the team earned a bronze in the team event.

Nguyễn Anh Minh is the national top golf player who has named Việt Nam in a number of international tournaments.

The journey from obscurity to prominence has been swift for Vietnamese golf. As recently as May 2022, Việt Nam had no players within the top 1,000 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

By June 2022, however, Minh became the first Vietnamese player to enter the rankings after notable performances, including a sixth-place finish at the 31st SEA Games held in Hà Nội.

Within just two years, Việt Nam has six players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, including Minh (ranked 64), Hưng (178), Sơn (480), Nguyễn Tuấn Anh (543), Đoàn Uy (774), and Lê Minh Nghĩa (925). These young athletes, aged between 15 and 17, exemplify Việt Nam’s rapid rise in the sport.

Minh, in particular, has achieved significant milestones, setting multiple records in Vietnamese golf history. At 17, he became the first Vietnamese invited to the US Junior Amateur in 2024, reaching the quarter-finals.

Minh’s other accomplishments include becoming the first Vietnamese to win the Faldo Series Asia in 2023, placing in the top seven at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Melbourne, and contributing to Asia’s victory in the Bonallack Trophy against a European team.

Hưng, too, has left his mark on the sport, winning the SEA Games gold and a bronze at the Southeast Asian Amateur Golf Team Championships (SEAAGTC) in 2024’s Putra Cup.

Sơn won the Lion City Cup title at SEAAGTC 2023 and also claimed victory at the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in April.

Together, these achievements highlight the incredible progress made by Việt Nam’s young golfers in such a short span of time.

National champion Nguyễn Đức Sơn was invited to take part in the 2024 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Japan in early October.

According to Khang, Việt Nam is witnessing the emergence of a talented young generation of golfers, with the number of junior players growing exponentially – from just a few in 2022 to nearly 400 players now, across age groups from U9 to U18.

This youth development effort has been supported by VGA’s frequent organisation of junior events, and the increased interest in golf has also led to a significant rise in local golf infrastructure, with nearly 30 new golf courses built in the past two years, raising the national total to 80.

Khang anticipated this number would grow to 150 courses within the next three to four years as new courses are planned and under construction.

... to hero

Reflecting on Việt Nam’s recent success at the SEA Games, Khang noted how the achievement had boosted local enthusiasm for the sport.

“In a country not traditionally focused on golf, our SEA Games win was monumental. People here never imagined that Việt Nam could excel in a sport like golf, which is even included in the Olympics,” Khang said.

“Our victory in Melbourne has further changed perceptions, showing that Việt Nam is more than capable of competing at the highest level.”

Lê Khánh Hưng has pocketed two prestigious titles as a teenager.

Just 18 months after their SEA Games success, Việt Nam’s teenage golfers set another milestone with their victory at the Asia-Pacific Team Championship (APGC) for the Nomura Cup, held at Vinpearl Golf Hải Phòng.

Minh, Hưng and Huy outperformed established golfing nations such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

Minh, making history yet again, won the Nomura Cup’s individual award with a 12-under-par 276, navigating challenging windy conditions with just three bogeys over four days. His strong tee shots, precision, and exceptional short game were instrumental to his victory.

APGC Chairman Taimur Hassan Amin lauded Việt Nam’s breakthrough, saying, “Congratulations to the Việt Nam team. Their performance was remarkable, especially since this is only their second appearance in the Nomura Cup and the first time hosting it.”

Amin also praised Minh’s talent and composure, expressing confidence in the young golfer’s future potential.

VGA Deputy Secretary General Bạch Cường Khang (left) and golfer Lê Khánh Hưng at the Nomura Cup.

VGA Secretary General Vũ Nguyên believed this historic win would be pivotal for the future of golf in Việt Nam. “This victory is an important milestone that will fuel further growth and development of the game in our country,” he said.

Khang echoed this sentiment, acknowledging that while Việt Nam’s golf landscape was still in its early stages, VGA was committed to a comprehensive development strategy that includes nurturing talent, training coaches, fostering junior golf, and organising local tournaments.

As Việt Nam’s young golfers continue to rise in the international ranks, the country’s golfing future looks bright. VNS