Wenyi Ding wins Asia-Pacific Amateur in dramatic fashion

Wenyi Ding wins Asia-Pacific Amateur in dramatic fashion

After entering the championship as the highest-ranked player in the field, Wenyi Ding finished 12-under to win the 2024 Asia-Pacific Amateur at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba in Shizuoka, Japan. 

Ding, who is ranked No. 9 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings, shot four straight rounds of 3-under 67 to shoot 12-under and win by one shot over Ziqin Zhou, who finished in solo second place at 11-under.

“It feels really good,” Ding told the Asia-Pacific Amateur after the win. “Last year, I lost in the playoff and just felt I couldn’t play any better. And this year I got the trophy, it’s amazing. Before I played No. 17, I didn’t want to play for a birdie. I just wanted to save a par. I felt nervous on the birdie putt (on 18). I don’t know why, but it went three or four feet by. I was able to hole it.”

The championship dealt with a six-hour rain and fog delay between the first two rounds after four and a half inches of rain hit the course.

Ding recently left Arizona State to try and become the first player to earn a spot on the DP World Tour, but now he has earned likely exemptions into the 2025 Masters Tournament and 2025 Open Championship if he decides to remain an amateur. 

The Global Pathway Rankings rewards the top non-collegiate amateur (which is why he left Arizona State) every year with a DP World Tour card. To be eligible, a player must “not be a current NCAA Division-I player” and “be at least 20 years of age by the end of the calendar year.”

Ding turns 20 in November. 

He became the first Chinese male player to win a USGA championship after winning the 2022 U.S. Boys’ Junior, set a collegiate scoring record at the 2024 Amer Ari Invitational, and won the 2024 Southern Amateur. He lost the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur to Jasper Stubbs in a playoff.

In his champion’s press conference, Ding referenced Haotong Li as a Chinese player he has looked up to over the years. The win marks the fifth victory by a Chinese player in the 15 editions of the Championship, the most by any country.

“Absolutely, it’s Haotong Li; I think he got top three in The Open,” Ding said. “He’s a really good player and brother…I don’t believe something like a Chinese player can’t do something. I just believe we can do [anything].”

36-hole leader Rintaro Nakano finished in solo third place at 10-under. 

The Asia-Pacific Amateur (formerly known as the Asian Amateur) is the first of a series of worldwide championships organized by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament, and the R&A.

The winner is invited to the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and the British Open Championship. The event has historically moved throughout the region and is now held in China, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, and New Zealand.

The cut was made after the second round concluded on Saturday morning at 7-over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HJ_lTmaqhc