Nguyen Minh becomes the most decorated Vietnamese athlete in Golf

Young sensation Nguyễn Anh Minh has emerged as the most successful Vietnamese athlete of recent times. He finished T7 at the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) on Sunday, October 29, with a total score of 6 over 290. Prior to this week, the best Vietnamese finish was T46 by Truong Chi Quan in 2016.

Jasper Stubbs triumphed at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship after coming from behind in the playoff. With this win, he has qualified for the Masters, the Open Championship, and the Amateur Championship next year. Sampson Zheng and the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Wenyi Ding finished as runner-ups.

Minh was 48th, 11-over par, after the ninth hole in the final round at Royal Melbourne. However, he made a remarkable recovery in the last nine holes, sinking five birdies.

Speaking at the post-round conference, the 16-year-old Vietnamese golfer was surprised with his top-ten finish. Comparing it to the recently held Asian Games in Hangzhou, he also said that the tournament wasn't an easy one with a pretty strong lineup.

Here's the leaderboard for the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship:

• 1. Jasper Stubbs: +1
• T2. Wenyi Ding: +1
• T2. Sampson-Yunhe Zheng: +1
• T4. Chuan-Tai Lin: +2
• T4. Max Charles: +2
• 6. Kazuma Kobori: +4
• T7. Anh Minh Nguyen: +6
• T7. Marcus Pang Chuen Lim: +6
• 9. Jeffrey Guan: +7
• 10. Billy Dowling: +8
• 11. Masayuki Yamashita: +9
• T12. Minato Oshima: +10
• T12. Riura Matsui: +10
• T12. Connor McDade: +10
• T12. Yanhan Zhou: +10
• T12. Zackary Swanwick: +10
• T12. Jimmy Zheng: +10
• T12. Alexander Yang: +10
• T19. Quinnton Croker: +11

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Who is Nguyễn Anh Minh? A look into young Vietnamese golf sensation's career

Minh was born in 2007 in Hanoi and was introduced to the game at the age of six. He quickly excelled at the national youth championship and came under the tutelage of the national coach, Nguyễn Thái Dương, which led to a huge improvement in his performance.

At the age of 14, Minh won the Bamboo Airways Golf Tournament—Flight to the Top, the Tiền Phong Golf Championship, and the National Golf Championship, becoming the youngest champion in many major tournaments. The following year, he claimed the international Lexus Challenge, becoming the first Vietnamese amateur golfer and the youngest competitor to triumph in a local pro event.

Anh Minh also successfully defended his national championship title, shooting 5-under, which was the best score in the tournament's 17-year history. He went on to win the Vietnam Junior Open with a total score of 15-under, helping him break into the top 200 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Anh Minh finished as the runner-up at the Vietnam Open and then became the first Vietnamese to claim the Asian Amateur Open Championship in Thailand. These outstanding performances helped him surge into the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and he achieved a ranking of 1965 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Earlier this year, he won the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, becoming the first Vietnamese to achieve this feat. Impressed by his performance, Sir Nick Faldo invited him to play in the Faldo Junior Tour Europe Grand Final, which is set to take place from November 21 to 23 in the UAE.