Cheng

Jin

The 19-year-old freshman currently ranks 15th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Jin has one PGA TOUR start under his belt, a missed cut at the 2016 Masters Tournament. It was a spot he earned by winning the weather-shortened Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in 2015. Winning was nothing new for Jin who at that point as he already owned a win on the PGA TOUR China circuit (2014 Nine Dragons Open). He was the first to accomplish a win there as an amateur. This week Jin has cracked the field thanks to a victory at the 2016 Players Amateur at Berkeley Hall Golf Club. The pedigree is certainly there for Jin, but it’s yet to be determined if his game is ready for the PGA TOUR at this stage in his career.

They were able to play for 61 minutes on Sunday morning before conditions deteriorated due to a typhoon. Hours into the delay, tournament officials called it and Cheng went in the books with a one-stroke victory over Australians Ryan Ruffels and Cameron Davis. “It is extremely disappointing that we are not able to complete the final round of this year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship,” said David Cherry, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation. “It was a very difficult decision to make as we wanted to see the completion of 72 holes as much as all the competitors did. The competition committee was committed to completing the final round on Sunday if at all possible, however the extreme weather conditions meant that completing in daylight would not be possible.” At 33rd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Cheng is highest among the Chinese. The 17-year-old is also exemption into the 2016 Masters thanks to today’s title.

Who knew that when Jin completed a superb up-and-down on the 18th hole in the third round of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship he had clinched his invitation to Augusta National? No-one, is the answer. But 24 hours later appalling weather caused the cancellation of the final round, the 17-year-old was 11-under-par through 54 holes, he held a one shot advantage over Australian pair Cameron Davis and Ryan Ruffels, he watched the rain fall and booked his ticket to the Masters. He will become just the second golfer from mainland China to compete at Augusta National; Guan Tianlang was the first four years ago. Jin has made 11 starts on professional circuits with a best of T11 in December’s Thailand Golf Championship, up against a strong field of invites and Asian Tour regulars. His T35 in this year’s Qatar Masters is also notable. He’s currently ranked 19th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.