Jin Cheng to make ‘emotional’ Clearwater Bay return to scene of his memorable Amateur Championship triumph

Jin shot a first-round 62 on his way to winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur title, which earned him a spot in last year’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, where the-then 18-year-old missed the cut in his major championship debut but enjoyed global exposure.

Jin has plenty of experience of professional tournaments, playing regularly on the PGA Tour China in 2014 and 2015. In early 2016, he made the cut at both the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and Maybank Championship Malaysia – both European Tour events – after receiving invitations on the back of his Asia-Pacific Amateur win in Hong Kong.

Now in his second year playing for Trojans at the University of Southern California, the 19-year-old has accepted a sponsor invite to compete at the second Clearwater Bay Open and admitted he’s eager to return to the scene of his greatest triumph.

“The win at Clearwater Bay was really special as it basically opened a lot of doors for me and obviously booked me a place at the Masters, which is every golfer’s dream. It was tough to win the AAC because I started well, but then I had to hold on to my lead in some difficult weather,” said Jin, who hails from Beijing and has also lived in Singapore.

“It’s going to be pretty special, pretty emotional, to go back to Hong Kong and play there again. A lot of memories will come back and hopefully I’ll see a few people I remember.”

Jin was only 16 in November 2014 when he became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour China title by claiming the Nine Dragons Open in Zhejiang province.