IJGA Senior Matt Cheng of Taipei, Taiwan, forced a playoff to take the win at the Junior World Qualifier at Golden Bear this past weekend, May 2-3, 2015. The thrilling win was Cheng’s first of the season. Joining him in the top-3 in the Boys 15-19 Division were three more IJGA students who tied for third including Jason Stokes of the Jersey Channel Islands in the United Kingdom, Dong Jin Park of Seoul, South Korea, and Frederic Ruess of Hamburg, Germany.
Cheng put himself in good position after the first round, shooting a 2-over 74 including birdies on three of the last four holes. His performance put him in third, just two strokes off the leaders, setting him up nicely for what would be a strong round two. Cheng made six birdies in the second round, taking his tournament total to 10, the most in the Boys 15-19 Division and helping him to capture the Eyeline Golf Golden Putter Award. His second day of 1-over 73 put him in what would be a one-hole playoff against Ryoto Furuya of Alpharetta, Georgia.
The playoff took place on the par-5 hole No. 18 where Cheng started off strong with his two approach shots landing in the center of the fairway and making it to the green in three strokes. After carding par on the hole, Cheng was crowned the winner.
Cheng was not the only IJGA student making statements. After carding a 3-under 69 in the second round, good for the lowest single round score of the tournament, Park took home the Clazic Belts Low Final Round Award for the boys.
Meanwhile, in the Girls Division, IJGA student Jasmine Chee of Hong Kong, China, had a strong showing. Chee was tied for the lead following the first round where she shot an even 72 with three birdies and a stretch of ten par-or-better holes before ultimately finishing second with a 4-over 148.
Special congratulations to Betty Horaney of Longview, Texas, who shot her first-ever career hole-in-one on the par-3 hole No. 8 during the second round of tournament play. Horaney will join the IJGA as a post-graduate student this fall.
Congratulations to all IJGA students!
