Wenyi Ding (Arizona State Athletics Photo)
Wenyi Ding is wasting no time making his mark on college golf.
In just his second collegiate start and his sixth collegiate round, Ding wins the 2024 Amer Ari Invitational at the Mauna Lani Resort Golf Course, the North Course, in Kamuela, HI., with a score of 27-under, winning by nine shots. He recorded rounds of 63-64-62. With his total score of 189, Ding sets the collegiate scoring record and is the first golfer to break 190 in a 54-hole collegiate event.
In his six starts, his worst round is a 67.
The 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur Champion joins 2023 Master's Champion Jon Rahm and Alex del Rey as the only Arizona State golfers since 1993-94 to shoot 16-under or better in two tournaments during their career. His 10-under 62 in the final round also tied the lowest 18-hole score in Sun Devil Golf history. The previous Sun Devil record was 21-under, 192, set by Jon Rahm at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational.
In his final round, Ding shot 10-under 62, starting his round with five straight birdies on Holes No. 1 through 5 and recording ten birdies in the bogey-free round. He birdied No. 18 to break 190 total and shoot the first 189.
Over 54 holes, Ding's statistics are almost unfathomable. He recorded 26 birdies, an eagle, and only one bogey.
Ding shot a 9-under 63 in the first round and kept the great golf rolling into the second round, shooting 5-under 31 on his front nine, which was the back nine of the course since he started on No. 10. Also, in the second round, he added an eagle on the par-5 No. 2 as he made the turn and finished his round off with birdies on Holes No. 6 and 7 and a bogey on No. 8.
Carl Corpus of San Jose State and Finn Koelle of Washington finished T2 at 18-under, nine shots back of Ding. Corpus shot a final round 8-under 64 to jump ten spots into second place on the third day.
David Ford of North Carolina, Matthew Comegys of Texas Tech, and Jackson Koivun of Auburn finished T4 at 17-under. Dylan Menante of North Carolina finished in solo seventh place at 16-under. Six golfers finished T8 at 15-under, including Peter Fountain of North Carolina, giving the Tar Heels three golfers in the top ten.
First-round leader Preston Stout finished T28 at 12-under after shooting 10-under 62 in the opening round. The round put Stout in impressive company, joining Eugenio Chacarra, Jordan Niebrugge, Morgan Hoffmann, Jonathan Moore, and Hunter Mahan as Cowboys to card rounds of 62.
In the team competition, North Carolina won by five shots, recording a team score of 68-under with scores of 262-268-266.
Arizona State finished in solo second place at 63-under, and Auburn finished in solo third place at 58-under. Texas Tech and Washington finished T4 at 57-under.
ABOUT THE
The Amer Ari Intercollegiate -- hosted by the
University of Hawaii-Hilo -- has brought some of the best golfers in the nation to the west side of the Big Island annually since its inception in 1992. From Tiger Woods to Jordan Spieth to Matt Kuchar, the Amer Ari Intercollegiate has hosted a myriad of players through the years who have gone on to professional stardom.
The event was originally played at Hapuna Golf Course at Mauna Kea Resort before moving to the Waikoloa Beach Resort. The Amer Ari returned to Hapuna during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, the event was moved to Mauna Lani. The Amer Ari is a 54-hole collegiate men's event with individual and team competitions.
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