Another first: Cheng Jin takes first U.S. win at The Players Amateur

Though Cheng Jin remains a couple months away from starting college, he’s already doing some impressive graduate work on the golf course.

Masters level? Indeed, he competed at Augusta National last April. Jin also has won a PGA Tour China event as an amateur.

And on Monday, the 18-year-old Chinese golfer notched his first amateur victory on U.S. soil, overcoming a shaky start with another strong back nine to capture The Players Amateur.

“I had a great week,” Jin said after Monday’s 2-under-par 70 gave him a two-stroke triumph over Vanderbilt’s Patrick Martin and Australian Harrison Endycott. “I wasn’t playing my best game and (tried to) just stay in there. Thankfully I did.”

Jin took a three-shot lead into the final round at Berkeley Hall’s South course, saw it vanish in the span of three holes, briefly trailed at the turn, then emerged from a cluster that saw seven players — including Bluffton’s Bryson Nimmer — within two strokes of each other at one point on the back nine.

Jin finally rose above the crowd again with birdies at Nos. 16 and 17, sticking his tee shot inside 8 feet at the par-3 16th and reaching the green in two at the par-5 17th for a two-putt birdie.

“I knew I needed to do something,” said Jin, who will be a freshman at Southern California in the fall. “After birdie/birdie on those holes, you feel so relieved. Then all you think is have a good last hole and win the tournament.”

Jin notched four birdies in all over his final seven holes, sparked by a seeing-eye birdie at No.12 from the cart path near the 10th fairway. Though Monday brought his first back-nine bogey of the week, he finished the week 11-under par on the inward nine.

Jin became the sixth international winner at The Players Amateur, and third in the past five editions. Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent was victorious two years ago; Australia’s Daniel Nesbit won in 2012.

Monday’s victory also earned Jin an exemption into the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, offering him a second chance to test himself against the PGA Tour’s best. He missed the cut at Augusta National, having earned a berth as winner of the Asia Pacific Amateur.

“It was an awesome week,” said Jin, who played practice rounds with Jason Day, Rickie Fowler and Tom Watson. “I really enjoyed every minute there, even though I didn’t play my best.”

Jin also made history in 2014 as the first amateur winner on the PGA Tour China circult, capturing the Nine Dragons Open, and has played in a half-dozen European Tour events this year.

“He’s a solid player,” said Nimmer, who was paired with Jin during Sunday’s third round.

Endycott zoomed up the leaderboard with a 66 that stood as Monday’s low round, moving into contention with four birdies on the front nine. He twice was tied for the lead on the back nine, only to see Jin pull ahead both times.

“I felt like I had nothing to lose, really,” the Aussie said. “I didn’t really want to change anything, but I went for a few extra (risks) today that I was lucky enough to pull off. It was a little bit disappointing to miss a couple of short putts, but I hit good putts coming in.”

Martin’s closing 68 left him with a share of runner-up honors for the second consecutive start. He tied for second at the Northeast Amateur, and before that was sixth at the Sunnehanna Amateur.

“I’ve been playing well all summer,” the Alabama native said. “I’ve been knocking on the door. This week I put myself in position again and each week I continue to feel more comfortable in that spot.”

Aussies Anthony Quayle (67) and Travis Smyth (67) tied for fourth, four shots behind Jin. Nimmer was another shot back after a 70 that followed a last-second discovery that his putter had been stolen overnight.

“It was my fault, probably,” said Nimmer, who didn’t retrieve his clubs from the bag drop after dinner at the clubhouse Sunday night.

“This morning my clubs were sitting there, picked them up, no big deal. We got over to the first tee, 10 minutes before my tee time, and went to grab the putter out of my bag — wherrrrre’s my putter?”

Nimmer’s father, Tony, quickly retrieved a backup model from the trunk of his car. Though the golfer rolled several good putts, getting them to fall was a different matter.

“I guess overnight somebody decided they liked my putter a little bit more than me,” the younger Nimmer quipped.

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 7:56 PM with the headline "Another first: Cheng Jin takes first U.S. win at The Players Amateur."