Golf at Asian Games 2026: Stroke Play, Nations and the Nagoya Course

Golf at the 2026 Asian Games

Golf has been part of the Asian Games programme in various forms since 1982. The modern stroke-play format used at the Asian Games mirrors the standard used at the Olympics and major professional tours. Both individual and team events are typically contested, with men’s and women’s competitions running in parallel. Japan, South Korea, and China are consistently the strongest golfing nations in Asia.

Competition Format

Asian Games golf uses 72-hole stroke play (four rounds of 18 holes) for the individual event. The lowest total score wins. Team events use best-ball or aggregate formats, where a nation’s top-scoring players contribute to a combined total. Play takes place on a designated course in the Aichi-Nagoya host region — Japan has no shortage of championship-standard courses for international competition.

Asia’s Golfing Powerhouses

South Korea is arguably the world’s strongest golf nation relative to population, with the Korean LPGA pipeline producing more women’s professional golf talent per capita than any other country. Players like Ko Jin-young and Park Sung-hyun have held world number-one rankings. Japan produces a steady stream of PGA Tour and JGTO competitors in the men’s game and has a growing women’s tour. China has invested substantially in junior golf since 2010, and its best male players now compete on the Asian Tour.

Thailand is an outlier in Southeast Asian golf — Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat have both played on the European Tour, and the women’s side has produced multiple LPGA Tour winners. The Philippines, India, and Malaysia all have small but competitive professional rosters.

Key Facts

Official source: Olympic Council of Asia