National golf schedule announced, expectations for 2025 are high

On January 14 VGA announced a list of 28 domestic and international competitions which will be held in Vietnam, including nine tournaments for professional golfers, six for amateurs and ten for junior competitors.

Vietnam will host three major international events: the Women Amateur Asia Pacific 2025 in March, the Southeast Asian (SEA) Matchplay Cup in July and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Senior Championship 2025 in November.

There are also three VGA Tour tournaments, the Lexus Challenge, the Vietnam National Championship and the Vietnam Masters in 2025.

The fifth Lexus Challenge will be on March 19-21. With a total bonus of US$90,000 it is one of the largest-prize money competitions in the country.

The national championship in June will be a top-flight opportunity for local golfers to show their ability and grab official places in the national team for the SEA Games 33 in December in Thailand.

Meanwhile October's Vietnam Masters is the oldest pro event in the country, which is always attractive to both senior and junior golfers across the globe.

Along with the VGA Tour, there is the VGA Development Tour series with four legs of TKG Jeongsan Challenge, the Dalat 1200 Tournament and the Hanoi Open.

"Three international tournaments in March, June and October will provide Vietnamese golfers opportunities to compete against elite world players. They can improve their technique and knowledge through the mesmerizing performances," said Nguyen Thai Duong, VGA Vice General Secretary.

"Six VGA Tour events will keep our players competing all year-round, helping them maintain their peak performance and ensuring they are ready for international events.

"These competitions will also alert the international golf community about Vietnam's golf development too," he said.

In addition to events for professional players, VGA also holds events for the amateurs with the Vietnam Senior Championship in May, the Vietnam Amateur Open, the Vietnam Ladies Amateur Open and the Vietnam Junior Open in June.

The Vietnam Associations Championship will be held in September for the second time, after a successful inauguration season in 2024.

The Vietnam Mid-Amateur Championship and the Vietnam Matchplay Championship will take place in November, the former, for the first time, holding competitions for over-35 year old males and over-30 year old female players.

Young golfers will have the chance to show their ability across ten competitions held across all three regions, able to not only sharpen their skills but also earn points for their world amateur ranking.

Vice General Secretary Bach Cuong Khang said VGA also had tournaments for amateurs of all ages and genders, so that the golf movement in the country would develop equally across all levels.

The Chairman of the National Golf Referees Council added that young players, when taking part in the Junior Tours, would receive invitations to participate in events abroad. Meanwhile VGA would also invite international players to Vietnam for selected events.

Speaking about VGA's expectation in 2025, General Secretary Vu Nguyen noted Vietnam golf has made brilliant advances in the last two years, with titles in the 32nd SEA Games in 2023, Malaysian Amateur Open 2024 and the 30th Nomura Cup in 2024, which surprised the world of golf.

He said all eyes would be on the national team at the 33rd SEA Games where Vietnam would defend the men's singles title and hope to be in the top three in the women's singles category for the first time.

He said in 2025, with a busy schedule and good preparation, Vietnam looks towards to more successful year.