Battling strong winds and an even stronger field, Ray Xiong emerged as the only player under par to take home the 2019 Southern California Junior Amateur Golf Championship title. Carding a 1-under score in each of the two rounds, Xiong was the only person to score under par in each round and one of three players to shoot under par despite Sunday’s rough conditions.
The fifth-annual tournament hosted in conjunction with the SCPGA was held at Morongo at Tukwet Canyon GC.
“I’m feeling really excited,” Xiong said. “It was a tough day, but I think I got through it pretty good.”
Xiong was on his game all day, and it showed. With two birdies on the front nine and one on the back nine, Xiong’s consistency boosted him past the competition. Starting the day four shots back from the leader, he battled back to overcome the deficit.
Finishing behind Xiong were first round leader Darien Zhao, Kyle An, Joshua Koo and Luke Powell.
“Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about winning I was just playing and enjoying the golf, and that’s all,” Xiong said.
On a day when Xiong estimated the wind blew his hat off 20 times, including once into a barranca, the wind kept him on his toes, especially on the greens.
“The wind was basically blowing my putts off,” Xiong said. “I couldn’t make anything, but I still got through the round pretty good and my long game was really good so that’s how I shot under par.”
With the win, Xiong earns an exemption into the 2020 California Amateur Championship and the 121st SCGA Amateur Championship.