No Signs of Slowing Down

Another week has come and gone and JGTA players shined across the U.S., taking home a total of six top-10 finishes across three AJGA events. It is only a matter of time until we see one of them atop the podium as an AJGA champion. Here’s what you missed from Asia’s rising stars last week on the AJGA summer circuit (July 1-4):

Players teed it up at the ever-so hilly Green Mountain National Golf Course in Killington, VT for the Killington Junior Golf Championship. The field featured 144 competitors, ages 12-19 from across the globe including Ontario, British Columbia, Macau, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Colombia, Philippines, and China.

More than 15 players from the JGTA were in contention at the AJGA event. An AJGA Qualifier was held the day prior to the tournament to give players an opportunity to “play their way in” to the Open event and earn PBE status for a future event. Wenlu Su (2021) of Guangzhou, China did just that. Su recorded a 5-over-par 76, earning herself one of the two tournament spots up for grabs in the girls division. Su went on to shoot two consecutive rounds of 77 in her first AJGA Open, missing the cut by just one stroke. Wenlu Su finished 24th on the 2018-2019 JGTA Junior Order of Merit Rankings.

For the full Qualifier results from the #KillingtonJr, click here.

In the girls division, a total of four competitors from the JGTA finished in the top-10. Junior All-Asia Team member, Nga Wun Tiffany Wu (2020) of Hong Kong, SAR made her AJGA debut this week and did so in bold fashion. Wu went low to take the lead in round one with a 4-under-par 68. Wu maintained the lead by one heading into the final round and ultimately finished T3 overall, earning herself fully exempt AJGA status. Right behind Wu at solo 5th was Charlene Chung (2023) of Hong Kong, SAR recording scores of 73-71-76 earning her a second AJGA top-5 finish in only two weeks.

JGTA Junior All-Asia Team Member Jiayang Lu (2020) of Chengdu, China finished T8, shooting scores of 74-75-75 just ahead of University of Columbia signee and 2017-2018 Junior All-Asia Team Member Annie Sun (2019) of (Canada) Beijing, China who finished T10.

In the boys division, JGTA player Cyrus Yu Fung Lee (2020) of Hong Kong took the charge in round one, firing a 5-under-par 67, just one stroke behind the leader. Lee finished the event T10 after shooting rounds of 81-71 respectively.

For the full tournament results from the #KillingtonJr, click here.

Meanwhile in Texas, 132 boys and girls, ages 12-15 competed in the AJGA Junior-All Star event hosted by Cameron McCormick, Texas Tech alum and current PGA Professional. Several players ranked on the Junior Order of Merit frequented the leaderboard throughout the 54-hole event, overall recording one top-10 finish in the girls division and 2 top-15 finishes in the boys division.

For the girls division, two-time JGTA Champion and Junior All-Asia Team member, Natachanok Tunwannarux (2023) of Bangkok, Thailand finished T6 at with scores of 73-73-71, making her trip to Texas a successful one. Tunwannarux, currently ranked 137 on the Rolex AJGA Rankings, is on a mission to break into the top-100.

In the boys division, Junior All-Asia Team Member and Player of the Year Pongsapak Laopakdee (2023) of Rayong, Thailand, had yet another notable week on the AJGA circuit after finishing T11 with scores of 74-70-69. Not far behind Laopakdee at T13 was Zicheng Ye (2022) of Shanghai, China. Ye has finished within the top-30 on the JGTA Junior Order of Merit Rankings for two consecutive seasons, T28 and T18 respectively.

For the full tournament results from the #JASMcCormick, click here.

A total of 144 boys and girls, ages 12-19 competed at the Circle K Junior Championship hosted by Otter Creek Golf Course in Indiana last week where they were faced with some daunting weather conditions throughout the event.

Junior All-Asia Team member and JGTA Champion Ieong Sin Kuan (2020) of Macau, SAR one-upped her T12 finish last week at the AJGA event hosted by Scott Stallings and earned herself a T10 at the Circle K Junior Championship. Despite a score of 82 putting her far behind the pack after round one, she managed to fight back, firing scores of 73-71. Kuan recently broke into the top-500 on the Rolex AJGA Rankings, where she currently sits T449.

For the full tournament results from the #OtterCreekJr, click here.

In addition to her top-10 finish, Jiayang Lu (Emma) also earned herself a brand new Bushnell Range Finder after winning AJGAs Bushnell Long Drive contest with a drive of 253 yds.