Windy Shao

windysjf@hotmail.com

XIONG TIANYI from the Chinese mainland clinched the overall boys’ title, finishing with 206 in the highly anticipated 15th edition of the Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship at Mission Hills Dongguan on Tuesday, after three rounds of intense competitions.

Hun Teng Teng from Macao took home the overall girls’ title with a 213 finish.

The mainland’s Luo Shaojun (209) and Fang Zeqian (218) were the runners-up in the boys’ 13-18 category, with Zhang Mijia (222) and Zhang Jiayi (230) in the girls’ 13-18 category. Luo Zhenting (228) won the boys’ 10-12 category, and Huang Minghe (233) won the girls’ category.

This year’s event attracted over 120 players, featuring some of the best players in the region. Xiong Tianyi also won the 15th Faldo Series Greater Bay Area Championship 2020, while Hun Teng Teng won the girl’s title at the Chinese Championship 2020.

The stakes remained high at Mission Hills Dongguan as the leading players will be invited to compete in the Nicklaus Junior Championship, which wil be played at Jonathan’s Landing Golf Club in Jupiter County, Florida, the U.S.

The overall champions and top three players in each category will also be invited to participate in the finals of the Mission Hills Youth Series 2022 and the Faldo Series Greater Bay Area Championship.

With R&A and China Golf Association ranking points on offer, the Nicklaus championship marked an important milestone in the resumption of golf tournaments.

Thousands of junior players have participated in the competition for 15 years since the championship was first held. More and more young golf player became known in China and even worldwide after participating in the event.

Tenniel Chu, vice chairman of Mission Hills Group, said that Nicklaus has made outstanding contributions to youth golf in the world, especially in Asia.

“The winning players’ results this year are obviously better than those in previous years. I am very gratified, which shows that our cooperation with Nicklaus over the years has achieved good results,” Chu said.

This tournament is the only Jack Nicklaus junior series held outside of the U.S., as part of the Mission Hills Junior Golf Program, which provides access to the sport for tens of thousands of juniors each year, from beginners to elite amateurs, through junior tournaments, camps and clinics, as well as school classes.