Hong has a drive to excel
A rainy fall and Hurricane Matthew put a damper on Florida high school golfers this season, but Eugene Hong continued to drive toward his goals.
A Circle Christian junior, Hong has parlayed a relentless consistency on the course into a No. 4 national ranking in the American Junior Golf Association Polo Rankings and a real shot at winning his first individual state championship. He leads the Centurions, a perennial contender for the team title, into the 1A state tournament on Friday and Saturday at Mission Inn and Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills.
“We won the state tournament my freshman year and I finished second individually,” Hong said. “I would like to improve on that and win both as a team and as an individual.”
Nicknamed “Eugene the Machine,” he carded a fiveunder-par 67 to win Class 1A, District 11 medalist honors on Oct. 11 and a 69 a week later at the Region 4 tournament to lead Circle Christian to a 294 team score and a five-stroke victory against Windermere Prep.
“He plays with a calm professionalism and the ability to manage a golf course that are more like a 30-year-old,” said Circle Christian boys’ golf coach Scott Richardson. “Also, while he appears quiet and unassuming, he has an internal desire and fire to excel.”
Hong has a 35-stroke average for nine-hole matches and a a 70 average for 18-hole rounds.
Circle Christian fielded its complete team for only three tournaments prior to the region event, where its score was the second best posted statewide, trailing only the 283 defending state champion Lake Mary Prep shot to win the Region 3 tournament.
Hong and teammates Evan Sun and Daniel Core all missed high school matches because they were competing in high-profile junior tournaments.
“This year, the weather has caused a lot of havoc in the schedule,” Richardson said. “The weather issues have caused our team and many others to have problems of getting into any kind of scoring rhythm.”
Hong has continued to excel in machine-like fashion wherever he goes.
“His 5-under-par 67 at North Shore in the district tournament has been a highlight for us,” Richardson said. “But, his highlight during the season has to be winning the clinching match for the USA in the Junior Ryder Cup win versus Europe a couple of weeks ago.”
Hong won the clinching Sept. 27 singles match for the U.S. against a Finnish player.
Now, Hong will team with Core, Joseph Dougherty, Sun and Jordan Rodriguez in an attempt to bring Circle Christian its fifth boys state title.
“We have the talent and expectations to get to the state tournament,” Hong said just before competing in the region tournament, “and then perform well enough to win.”