Shenzhen, China (May 25): China’s Jin Cheng and Chinese Taipei’s Chang Yu-hsin were crowned Overall Winners in the 2012 Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship.
In the Boys’ Division, Jin posted a three-round total of nine-under-par 207 over the Jack Nicklaus-designed World Cup Course at Mission Hills. In the Girls’ Division, Chang took top honours with a 54-hole total of 11-under 205.
Jin and Chang, along with the top-four players in each division, received an invitation to play in the Nicklaus Junior Championship at Bear Lakes Links in Florida. Meanwhile, the two overall winners will also be granted entry into the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final and the division winners will qualify for the Mission Hills Series Junior Tour Grand Final at Mission Hills in 2013.
In a further boost for Jin, he has also received an invitation to play in a OneAsia Tour event in 2013.
Speaking at the official prize ceremony, OneAsia Tour Chairman Sang Y Chun said: “We look forward to having Jin Cheng play in one of our events next year. He has proven himself to be a rising star within the game and trust this experience will help him realise his full potential.”
This is the fifth consecutive year that Mission Hills has staged the tournament, which attracted 99 players from seven different nations – China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and the United States. The tournament was divided into four divisions: Boys’ Under-18, Boys’ Under-15, Girls’ Under-18 and Girls’ Under-15.
The Boys’ Under-15 Division was won by Thai Khanchitworakun Thanaphum, while China’s Sui Xiang triumphed in the Girls’ Under-15 Division. In the Under-18 categories victory went to the Chinese Taipei duo of Chen Cih-hui (Girls) and Huang Chi (Boys).
Reflecting on this year’s event, Tenniel Chu, Vice Chairman of Mission Hills Group, said: “It’s exciting to see so many talented youngsters from throughout the region playing here at Mission Hills. More and more are getting involved in the game and learning about championship golf which is what the Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship is all about. I hope that they have both enjoyed and benefited from the experience and we look forward to seeing them back at Mission Hills again in the near future.”
Jack Nicklaus, the 18-time Major champion, said: “I’d like to congratulate the winners and thank all those who participated in this year’s event. The young men and women played some terrific golf and, just as important, they have conducted themselves wonderfully throughout the championship.
“I hope I have the opportunity to see some of them play in Florida this summer. This is the fifth year that the event has been staged at Mission Hills in China, and we should thank everybody at Mission Hills, including the Chu family, for again staging a first-rate tournament and for using a competitive golf environment to show the many wonderful aspects of our game.
“We can only hope that many of these players continue to progress as tournament golfers, but even if they don’t, let us hope that they can continue to simply enjoy playing the game and use the character-building aspects of golf to become better young men and women.”
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