Organisers have confirmed that the victor at the tournament, scheduled to take place at the Royal Wellington Golf Club in New Zealand from October 26 to 29, will be given an exemption to the event, one of golf’s four majors.

The 2018 Open Championship is due to be held at the Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland.

The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, first staged in 2009, was established to grow and develop golf in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We are delighted to offer a place in The Open for the winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and look forward to welcoming this year’s champion to Carnoustie in 2018," said Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director - Championships at The R&A.

“The Open is one of the world’s great sporting events which is contested by the game’s greatest players.

“There is a strong tradition of amateurs competing in The Open and this new exemption for the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship offers a major added incentive for the leading amateurs throughout that region.”

The competition, which includes 120 of the region’s top amateur golfers, becomes one of four elite amateur events, along with the Amateur Championship, the European Amateur Championship and the US Amateur Championship, to offer qualification for The Open.

Previous winners of the tournament include Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, who has won three PGA Tour events and finished tied for fourth at last year's PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey.

Matsuyama, ranked at number six in the world, clinched the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship title in 2010 and 2011.

“The R&A is committed to developing and enhancing the status of amateur golf throughout Asia-Pacific,” Dominic Wall, Director - Asia-Pacific at The R&A, added.

“The exemption for the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will provide a fantastic opportunity for talented amateur golfers from this part of the world to qualify for The Open.”

The development comes after organisers announced first and second placed finishes at next year's Kolon Korea Open golf tournament will receive wildcard entries for the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

It will mark the first time this has happened in a move designed to raise the profile of the event and boost opportunities for male golfers in South Korea.