The hardest part about unpacking Jaden Soong’s dominant five-shot victory at the 125th SCGA Amateur Championship is figuring out where to start. It should probably be noted off the top that the young man from Burbank, Calif. is just 14-years-old.
Soong’s bogey-free 66 in his final round was as surgical as it was beyond his years. The soon-to-be high school freshman got around The Saticoy Club like a veteran with decades of experience.
Eleven fairways, 14 greens and just 27 putts to go along with a perfect four-for-four in scrambling added to up to what his father, Chris, called “the best round of Jaden’s life.” Not bad for a kid that just graduated from eighth grade a few weeks ago.
As for the leaderboard, Soong cleared the field by five shots, making birdie on his 72nd hole to finish at -10 for the week. In the process, Soong became the youngest player ever to win the second oldest amateur championship in the country. Now his name will forever be engraved alongside Tiger Woods, Sahith Theegala, Beau Hossler, Patrick Cantlay and Rico Hoey.
Coming into the final round, it seemed as if the Hollywood writers just 60 miles down U.S. Route 101 had overnighted a readymade script to The Saticoy Club. The final group on the final day consisted of Greyson Leach, the defending SCGA Amateur champion, Torrey Edwards, the reigning SCGA Mid-Amateur champion, and Soong, the SoCal Junior Amateur champion.
Apparently Soong read the screenplay as an action plot and not a drama. His second birdie on the front nine, which came at no. 6, gave him the outright lead over Leach and he would never look back from there.
The seventh hole proved to be the explosion scene of the movie. Leach, who entered the final round tied with Soong at -4, detonated his chances with a wayward drive and an approach shot that flew the green. It took two below average chips to finally get on the dance floor, where Leach would three-putt for a triple-bogey seven. Meanwhile, Soong made his second of back-to-back birdies—his third of the front nine—and the four-shot swing would cripple Leach’s chances before even making the turn. The brown bear cub that ran across the fairway on Wednesday was now, somehow, the second-most memorable event that occurred at no. 7 this week.
After nine holes, Soong had a five-shot lead thanks to going out in 33. Edwards shot a 37 and Leach carded a 39.
Sticking to the film motif, the back nine was a sequel of the front. Soong again shot 33, with three more birdies, no bogies and no stress.
A testament to Soong’s poise and talent is that you can easily forget you’re watching a 5’ 2”, recently graduated middle schooler who is only 14-years-old. Today he showed up to play in a star-studded, pedigreed group and tore the course apart right in front of them to win a major amateur championship. What 14-year-old kid does that?
Jaden Soong. That’s who.
JADEN SOONG INTERVIEW
SCGA: You just won the 125th SCGA Amateur Championship and you’re the youngest player in the history of the event to do. It probably hasn’t sunk in yet, but how does it feel right now?
Soong: It’s an amazing feeling. I am so happy to win at this event and am honored to be the 125th SCGA Amateur champion. I’m glad to be on that trophy with all the incredible names are on there, including Tiger Woods. It doesn’t really get better than this.
SCGA: You’re coming off a semifinalist finish at the Cal Am just two weeks ago. It’s been an amazing run of golf for you. What did you learn from the Cal Am at Sherwood CC that you were able to bring to the SCGA Am at The Saticoy Club?
Soong: The Cal Am taught me so much. Sherwood is an amazing and challenging course. Huy [Dang] caddied for me as well at Sherwood so I think it was more of him getting to know my game better and how much I progressed over a year. I think my putting and chipping was amazing at Sherwood and it carried over here at Saticoy.
SCGA: You played your semifinal match at the Cal Am against Torrey Edwards and he beat you 1 UP. When you saw yesterday that you were going to be in the final group with him today, how did you react to that?
Soong: I was so happy. I enjoyed playing with him so much in match play so I was glad to see that I was paired with him again. Since I knew him it made it a lot easier to fit into the final pairing.
SCGA: Your final group today had Greyson Leach, the defending SCGA Amateur champion, Torrey Edwards, the defending SCGA Mid-Amateur champion, and you, the defending SoCal Junior Amateur champion. That’s as star-studded and pedigreed as it gets. What was it like not only playing in that group but dominating in that group?
Soong: I mean, just knowing that they were all really good players, I talked to my coach yesterday and he reminded me that it’s one day, 18 holes, and we’ll see how their game is and we’ll see how mine is. Just playing my game and hit fairways and greens and that’s just what I did all day.
SCGA: Because of your age and early success at such big events, you’re gaining a lot of media attention. This is only going to add to that. How are you preparing to deal with everything to comes with being this special at the age of 14?
Soong: I’m not sure… we’ll see. If there is any media, I’ll see what they ask and see if I know how to talk.
SCGA: Your family and a bunch of fans and a bunch of members were following you all day. With the crowd and history on the line and championship playing partners, you thrived under the pressure. Do you like the pressure?
Soong: Yeah, I really do. During match play, every hole was a different hole and there was a lot of pressure. I really thrived in that so I kind of knew that with everybody watching it would make my game better.
SCGA: We can’t pick out a best part of your game. You hit 11 fairways, 14 greens, you were a perfect 4 for 4 scrambling and you only took 27 putts. So we’ll ask you—what worked best for you today?
Soong: Off the tee wasn’t too bad, there were some that weren’t as solid. Irons were pretty good, I was pretty dialed today and 14 greens is pretty good for me. But it was my putting today, I made so many great putts that were probably 15 feet and out. It was just a great day overall.
SCGA: How would you summarize the week as a whole?
Soong: It was really tough. I was just trying to figure out the greens which were a little bumpy to start the first day. But I figured out that I just had to hit my putts a little harder so I was able to hold my line better. That’s what I did the second day and carried it on to the last two rounds. I really can’t wait for the other tournaments I have coming up for the summer.
SCGA: Your name is now the same trophy as Tiger Woods, Sahith Theegala, Beau Hossler, Patrick Cantlay and Rico Hoey. How does it feel to be forever engraved next those PGA stars?
Soong: It’s amazing. I look up to so many of them, especially Tiger. So to have my name be next to them on the same trophy is really cool. It’s really amazing.
SCGA: What does a win like this so early in your golf career do for your confidence?
Soong: It definitely helps my confidence; it helps me feel really good about my game right now. I still have a lot of things to work on and I just hope that my game keeps improving and I only keep getting better from here.
SCGA: This win today earns you an exemption spot into the U.S. Amateur Championship. What does it mean to be a part of that national championship?
Soong: I’m so excited! It’s my first one and I’ve never been close to qualifying for this event so I can’t wait for it. I couldn’t have done it without my parents’ support, the SCGA and The Saticoy Club for hosting the event and my caddy Huy Dang.