Junior duo upbeat despite defeat
CHINESE junior golfers Jin Bo and Xu Andi enjoyed closely fought-wins in their singles matches at the Junior Presidents Cup in Melbourne yesterday, which reinforced their belief that they can reach for the stars.
Both Jin and Xu were members of the International Team, which lost 11-13 to the United States Team in the two-day competition, which is a prelude for the Presidents Cup scheduled to start at Royal Melbourne on Thursday.
Jin secured his second win in the tournament by closing out Benjamin James 3 & 2 in a match he never trailed. Xu, who lost his first two matches on Sunday, bounced back to edge Maxwell Moldovon, the 2019 Rolex Junior Player of the Year, 1-up.
“It’s really special to play in an event which mirrors the Presidents Cup. This is the best event by far that I’ve played in and it’s something I’ll never forget,” the 17-year-old Xu said.
“The first day was pretty tough as our long game wasn’t good and we struggled. It’s really about learning how to manage on this golf course, your distance control and where to hit it. I made some mistakes which I think can help me in the future as I’ll know how to perform better.”
Xu will remain in Australia over the next few days to watch the Presidents Cup, a biennial team event run by the PGA Tour that pits the US Team against a rest-of-theworld side, excluding Europe.
Jin, whose elder brother Jin Cheng won the 2015 Asia Pacific Amateur Championship, was delighted he made amends with a strong win in the singles. “It’s my first time to Australia and it feels so good. The whole set-up in this tournament astonished me. I am glad I won today as I played quite good,” Jin noted.
Yesterday, US Team captain Tiger Woods attempted to draw a line under
Patrick Reed’s rules violation at the Hero World Challenge over the weekend when his team touched down in Australia for the Presidents Cup.
Reed received a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie in a bunker on Friday during the third round of the tournament hosted by Woods in the Bahamas, where most of the American team prepared for their trip Down Under.
The penalty meant the 2018 Masters champion missed out on a chance to force a playoff against winner Henrik Stenson of Sweden at Albany Golf Club, but perhaps more damaging was the widespread condemnation of his actions.
A jet-lagged Woods was asked about the incident after making the long journey to Australia for the 13th edition of the biennial contest at Royal Melbourne.
“Yes, I have spoken to Pat about it, it’s behind us, we’re onto this week, we’re focused on going against this great International Team here,” the 15-time major winner told reporters at the official launch of the tournament.
“As we all know, Pat was penalized and that was it, end of story. Unfortunately, he missed the playoffs by those two shots but we’re looking at this week.”
Some International players have suggested Reed might get some flak from the crowd over the incident but Woods said he thought the famous Australian love of sport would ensure a great atmosphere for the contest.
Woods joined International Team captain Ernie Els of South Africa for a Fan Experience on the Yarra River banks.
(Agencies)