Golf 

Nguyễn Tuấn Anh is one of three Vietnamese players at the Nomura Cup in September in China. Photo courtesy of VGA

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Golf Association is banking on talented new faces as it heads to China, hoping to retain the Nomura Cup.

The biennial Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship for men gets underway next month.

In 2024, Việt Nam made history, beating defending champions Japan to lift the trophy, while Nguyễn Anh Minh took top spot in the individual rankings, completing Việt Nam's remarkable double at Vinpearl Golf Hải Phòng. 

After that milestone victory, Việt Nam will be back with three players, Hồ Anh Huy, Nguyễn Tuấn Anh and Nguyễn Văn Hòa, for this year's tournament at Beijing’s Bayhood International Golf Club from September 1-4.

Among them, only Huy was part of the winning squad two years ago. His senior teammates Nguyễn Anh Minh and Lê Khánh Hưng cannot participate as they are busy with their studies in the US.

The Việt Nam Golf Association (VGA) said their absence would not change Việt Nam's target but would open up opportunities for other talented players.

Tuấn Anh is currently the second-highest-ranked Vietnamese golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, at No 112. Among his achievements in 2025 were second-place finishes in the Asian Youth Games' golf individual and team events and a bronze medal in the 33rd SEA Games' team event.

A poster for the biennial Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship featuring Hồ Anh Huy, Nguyễn Tuấn Anh and Nguyễn Văn Hòa (from left), who will represent Việt Nam at the tournament.

Hòa made strong progress in the rankings in 2026, winning titles on the Hanwha Life VGA Junior Tour and Tràng An Junior Tour Elite-Spring, as well as finishing third in three other events. He jumped nearly 2,000 places to No 588. 

"Many of our good and young players are ready to play in top-level tournaments," said VGA General Secretary Vũ Nguyên.

"I believe that currently we havea stronger group of players compared to the last edition in Hải Phòng.

"But you know, luck is always part of sport and we have to accept it. We just try to prepare as well as possible for the tournament, select our best players and see how it goes."

The Nomura Cup was first held in 1963 as a tri-nation tournament in the Philippines, when the host nation took on Japan and Chinese Taipei.

Recent editions have attracted more than 20 nations, with teams of three players. The tournament is held over four days, with 18 holes of stroke play each day, and the best two daily rounds counting towards the team score.

The tournament has been dominated by Australia, which has won the Cup 10 times, and Japan, a seven-time winner.

The winning team receives the Nomura Cup, which was named after Shun Nomura, a former vice-president of the Japan Golf Association who donated the trophy. An individual champion is also crowned

Việt Nam's first Nomura Cup campaign was in 2013 at Santiburi Country Club, Chiang Rai, Thailand. The team finished 19th out of 26 teams. Eleven years later, Việt Nam returned and pulled off one of the most remarkable victories in the tournament's history. — VNS