Dallas, Texas, United States: Inspired by the Open Championship deeds of Li Haotong, a 10-strong Chinese team is aiming for glory at this week’s 77th US Junior Amateur.
Only the United States (186) and Canada (13) have larger contingents than China in the starting line-up at Trinity Forest Golf Club and Brook Hollow Golf Club.
Spearheading the China challenge is Chang Xihuan, 98th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and Gu Liangliang and Wang Yipu, members of China’s 2024 Nomura Cup team.
Gu, one of China’s brightest teenage golfing talents, was also a member of the International Team at last year’s Junior Presidents Cup in Canada and has designs on following in the footsteps of Li Haotong, who captivated China golf fans with his performance at Royal Portrush where he played in last grouping on the final day alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler.
In total, there are 39 players from 14 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) member nations taking part this week.
Among the notable individuals representing their countries and the region are Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh and Ho Anh Huy, Korean An Seong-hyun, Singaporean Brayden Lee, New Zealand’s Cooper Moore and Indonesian Rayhan Abdul Latief.
Anh Minh, 51st in the WAGR, and Anh Huy were members of the Vietnam team that won the Nomura Cup last year. Anh Minh was also a team-mate of Gu at the 2024 Junior Presidents Cup and was part of the APGC’s Bonallack Trophy-winning team against Europe in the United Arab Emirates in January.
Last year was also memorable for Korean national team player An, who became the first player from his country to win The R&A Junior Open. He was also joint fifth in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) in Japan and runner-up in the 2024 APGC Junior Championship in the Philippines.
Singapore’s Lee and Kiwi Moore have also enjoyed impressive wins this year. Lee topped the leaderboard at The Royal Cup in Japan while Moore took top honours at the APGC Junior Championship in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Daniil Sokolov, who earned his spot in the field by carding a 68 at Palm Valley Golf Club in Nevada, will make history as the first golfer from Qatar to compete in a USGA event.
Born in Korea to Russian parents, he moved to Qatar at the age of five. Earlier this year, he competed in the Qatar Masters on the DP World Tour for a second time, though he missed the cut in both appearances.
Among his top accomplishments are victories at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club Open in April and the Jordan Junior Open in May last year. He also earned bronze medals at the 2024 Arab Junior Golf Championship in Tunisia and represented Team Qatar at the 2024 Pan Arab Men’s Golf Championship in Ajman.
The US Junior Amateur will begin with 36 holes of stroke play, 18 each on Monday and Tuesday, after which the field will be reduced to the low 64 scorers.
There will then be six rounds of match play, starting on Wednesday. The championship is scheduled to conclude with a 36-hole final on Saturday (July 26).
