Aussie Jeong set for British Am final

BY Anthony Powter | World Amateur Mens Tour | 2010 British Amateur Championship | Semi-Finals | 19 Jun 2010

Jin Jeong will play Scotland’s James Byrne in the final of the British Amateur Championship at Muirfield Golf Club in Scotland.

Jeong, 20, who has been living in Melbourne for the past three years since moving from South Korea, knocked out Northern Ireland’s Lytham Trophy winner Paul Cutler, 3&2, in the morning’s quarter-final and was then 2-under-par in overwhelming Matthew Nixon, the former British Boys champion from Lancashire, 5&4, in the afternoon’s semi-final.

Earlier in the year, following the New Zealand Amateur Championship, Jeong for the first time broke into the world’s top-10 ranking, a goal he set twelve months ago, along with securing a major national tile.

Jeong has already secured his first objective and is set to achieve the second if successful in tomorrow’s 36-hole final of the British Amateur Championship.

Jeong, who last month led Waverley to their first Victorian Division 1 Major Pennant Flag after defeating 2006 winners, Kingswood, feels the momentum in this championship has swung his way and is confident that his game will stand the test of the pressure in the championship final.

“Finally, I’m now in the final and I’m so excited,” said Jeong about making his first national championship match appearance.

“All week I’ve been playing well, so I’m confident that I’ll play well tomorrow.”

A place at the 2010 Open Championship and the 2011 Masters Tournament are on offer for the 2010 British Amateur Champion and with the added pressure of trying to secure one of the most prized amateur trophies in world golf, Jeong’s strategy is to stick to his game plan of playing ’fairways’ and ’greens’.

“I will play to my game,” says Jeong, who qualified for the match-play with scores of 70-71 to finish 1-under-par and in a tie for 27th position.

“Hopefully, that’s enough to win. It’s just great to be in the final and with a chance. This is my first time in the UK and to get this far is very exciting for me.”

This championship at Muirfield has identified how much Jeong is a serious threat to any international field in events he enters. His best international finish coming into Muirfield was a tied 3rd at the 2009 Cardinal Amateur in North Carolina, USA.

Despite being his first UK tour, on the back of this week’s results alone Jeong’s world ranking has moved from seven to be currently the world’s number 3.

“I’ve been pleased with the way that I’ve been playing,” he said on the range at Muirfield this afternoon.

“It was very different from Australia. I was ok with the wind at St Andrews, but I was struggling around the greens. I couldn’t use normal chip shots around the greens. I’ve worked on that this week and are playing well.”

Jeong’s advancement during this championship is impressive as he accounted for a number of ’links’ specialist in the process of making the final.

Jeong’s victories included defeating 2010 Scottish Open Stroke Play Champion, France’s Romain Wattel, 4&3, in Thursday’s morning 3rd round, and 2009 Boys Amateur Champion, Tom Lewis, 1-up in the afternoon’s 4th round to advance to the top-8. Which each round Jeong’s confidence was building as well as his knowledge as to how to overcome Muirfield.

“I’m getting use to the course and playing the variety of shots that you need to play,” he says.

“With that I feel more confident playing the shots that you have to in these conditions.”

You have to be confident to pull off a major win like the British Amateur and Jeong certainly has an aura of unassuming ability to get the job done, as those close to the Waverley club player in Victoria who know Jeong’s talents are acutely aware.

Jeong in neither streaky good or streaky bad, rather he’s simply consistent on the course. He can play a variety of shots and also drives the ball well. His mind is like a steel trap and he’ll play a course strategically, fully aware of the risk/reward options and being selective in the process. Jeong’s game is methodical and extremely effective.

Jeong makes for a formidable match-play opponent for Byrne and that was no more evident during the Victorian Pennant series where Jeong played the number 1 position for Waverley, winning four of his five matches, including the final where he defeated Ashley Umbers.

Byrne, a quarter-finalist in last year’s British Amateur at Formby, negotiated his way through to the championship final after victories over Germany’s Stephan Jaeger, Englishman, Alex Christie. Byrne is also a classy player and is exhibiting some stellar form here at Muirfield.

The world number 25 bogeyed only one hole during today’s rounds as he first beat Frenchman Edouard Espana, 2&1, in the quarter-final and then Walker Cup player Chris Paisley on the 17th green in the afternoon’s semi-final.

Byrne qualified for the match-play with rounds of 68-69 in a three-way tie for runner-up at 5-under-par, two strokes behind top-qualifier, Tommy Fleetwood.

With two national trial event wins this Australian season at the Tasmanian Open and Riversdale Cup, as well as two runner-up finishes with the Australian Amateur Medal and at the Keperra Bowl, Jeong certainly has the game and experience to match Bryne, who’s attempting to become the first Scot to win the British Amateur on home soil since Stuart Wilson won at St Andrews in 2004.

It sets the stage for a thrilling final and one that’s sure to be a close affair.

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