The 2026 Australian Master of the Amateurs looks to enhance a reputation the tournament has built for uncovering golf’s future stars.
If you’ve ever wanted to see a plus-10 handicapper in action, or Australia’s No.1-ranked male and female amateurs for that matter, the Australian Master of the Amateurs from January 5-9 had better be on your calendar.
The 2026 edition shapes as the most compelling yet, with 21 countries represented at Melbourne’s Southern Golf Club, plus a newly implemented 36-hole cut to better reflect global 72-hole strokeplay tournaments.
Ella Scaysbrook, who reached the semi-finals of this year’s US Women’s Amateur, leads the local contingent, while the top two-ranked Australian males, Harry Takis and Kayun Mudadana, are both entered.
Now in its 29th year and presented by Callaway Golf, the Australian Master of the Amateurs (AMOTA) is seeking to build on its reputation for creating pathways for rising amateur talents. It’s worth noting the status past competitors have reached, including Cameron Smith, Rickie Fowler, Marc Leishman, Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, Ryan Fox, Lucas Herbert, Min Woo Lee, Cam Davis, Corey Conners, Will Zalatoris, Matthew Wolff, Russell Henley, Sahith Theegala, Robert MacIntyre and more.
No other amateur tournament in Australia attracts as many World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points as the AMOTA does, making it an important way to start the new year – this time more than ever. In 2026, the AMOTA will be the first tournament in the world held under the revised WAGR system, which is being tweaked to change how the strength of events is calculated.
Joining Scaysbrook and Mudadana in the Australian ranks will be Raegan Denton and reigning Australian Amateur champion Rachel Lee. Yet perhaps most eyes will be on 17-year-old Xizihan Wang from Hong Kong, who sports an extraordinary plus-10 handicap. The Asian influx continues to be strong, with Wang’s countrywoman Elin Wang and Japanese No.1 Anna Iwanaga also making the trip to Melbourne.
Continued support from the American college system, plus a date that favours the US college-golf calendar, sees yet another strong line-up of starters from the USA. Jasmine Koo and Catherine Park headline the female contingent, while Josiah Gilbert and Zachery Pollo are part of the male field heading Down Under with famed college coach Rick LaRose.
Also part of the field: Korea’s Minjee Ku and Singapore’s Xingtong Chen in the women’s field and New Zealand’s Cooper Moore, Hong Kong’s Jeffrey Shen and Markus Lam, Japan’s Kanichiro Katano, Malaysia’s Maverick Chua, Singapore’s Brayden Lee and Vietnam’s Le Khanh Hung in the men’s.
For those behind it, particularly tournament founders and directors Peter and Angela Mann, the growing opportunities for amateur golfers that come from AMOTA is the most satisfying element of the event.
“We believe in pathways,” Peter says. “That’s what our mission is – letting kids that want to ‘live the dream’ have a pathway of choice, a pathway that they can go to university in America and get a scholarship or stay in Australia and further their games. We say in the entry form, ‘Would you like to be contactable by a college?’ and 98 percent of them tick it.”
“This year, there were a few scholarships given, which the parents could not believe. The year before another scholarship – and these scholarships are worth a lot.
“And because we’re showing this pathway and because there will be college coaches from America coming out with their players, what we’ve decided is, on the Thursday – because there’s a cut after 36 holes – we’re going to hold a coaches’ Q&A forum for the first time. So parents and players can come to the forum and the coaches can say, ‘This is what we offer in college,’ and the parents and players can ask questions of the coaches.”
A single 72-hole strokeplay event staged during the early part of the year might appear to be of little consequence at first glance, yet the opportunities that stem from one week in Melbourne – even for the golfers who don’t win – could be life-changing.
Visit masteroftheamateurs.com.au for the latest field updates and news about the 2026 Australian Master of the Amateurs.
