Upstart quits college to pursue glory on PGA Tour Series China

Jin Cheng has played in 18 PGA Tour Series China events, winning once.

The 20-year-old Beijing native has made the cut on three other pro tours and even teed it up in the Masters

But one thing Jin hasn't done is play in a professional tournament as a pro.

That will all change this week when the former University of Southern California golfer, who withdrew from school to turn pro two weeks ago, tees it up in the series' Chinese mainland qualifying tournament at Foison Golf Club in Guangzhou.

If Jin, who won last year's tournament by a whopping 17 strokes, makes the grade this week he plans to commit to PGA Tour Series China while also adding some Asian Tour action when possible.

Jin is already an Asian Tour member by virtue of his Q-school performance last December.

After two and a half seasons of college golf, he decided to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Yuan Yechun, who left the University of Washington early and turned pro, parlaying his fall season on the PGA Tour Series China into a Web.com Tour card.

Jin sees a similar path for himself, even though he admits how difficult it was to leave college life in Los Angeles behind.

"The decision was really hard because I couldn't have asked for a better coach and better teammates. I have a lot of love for them, but my dream is to play professional golf, so sometimes that's life... and life can be hard," he said.

"It was difficult, but now I've made the decision so there is no looking back. I am definitely grateful for the team I had and for how much my coach has helped me and for my time at USC."

Not only does Jin anticipate seeing a lot of familiar faces he knew when he was a regular Series player, he will also be back on a tour where he has experienced significant success.

At age 16, Jin made history when he won the 2014 Nine Dragons Open outside Shanghai, coming from off the pace late in the final round to pass future PGA Tour player Lucas Lee, who faltered down the stretch.

Jin became the first amateur to win a Series event, a feat Yuan matched in 2018.

A year after his breakthrough win, Jin announced he would play college golf at USC, surprising some observers who thought he might follow the path of compatriots Li Haotong and Dou Zecheng by turning pro without attending university.

Prior to enrolling at USC, Jin said: "I think I need one more step before I go to the top standard of professional golf. I need some time to get ready for it.

"I'm still not mature enough for it. I can learn a lot from college, and not only golf. I can be a student, but I can also learn a lot about life."

At USC, Jin's biggest highlights came during his freshman year in 2016-17. The Trojans were the top-ranked team in the US before losing in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship, while Jin had a third-place finish in a tournament and earned All-Pac 12 honorable mention honors along with a spot on the All-Freshman team.

He climbed to his highest position in the world amateur rankings - No 9 - in 2017 after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur and The Players Amateur.

Jin is leaving some fond memories behind, making his decision to leave early all the more admirable.

"I think those were the best two and half years ever in my life," he said.

"I was really close with my coach and my teammates and the whole USC family, and we played the best competitions in college," Jin reflected.

"We played a lot of good tournaments, and my school has helped make a lot of great players, so I think the platform has helped me a lot - not only in terms of golf but also getting better physically and mentally."