Jason Dasey
Turning points can present themselves in many different shapes and sizes, but Eric Chun's came in the form of a tricky six-foot downhill putt on the final hole of the Asian International Final Qualifying for July's British Open at the Saujana Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur.
Sink it and the South Korean qualifies for his first major championship at St Andrews. Miss and the 20-year-old amateur enters the lottery of a three-way play-off, increasing the odds of another disappointment.
Twice before in the previous 12 months, Chun came desperately close to booking his place at one of the sport's four big tournaments only to fall agonisingly short. He was runner-up in last November's inaugural Asian Amateur Championship at Mission Hills to miss out on a Masters berth and blew a two-shot lead with three holes to play in the final stage of last June's qualifying for the 2009 US Open.
'I was shaking a little bit because when you go to a play-off with two other guys for one spot, your chances of making it are pretty small,' Chun said. 'While putting, I tried to not think of that and stayed in the present. After I made it, I couldn't believe what happened. I still can't believe it.'
It was even sweeter for Chun because he achieved his decisive birdie around friends in Malaysia where he did much of his junior schooling. He's also lived in Australia and South Korea and is now majoring in communications and religion at Northwestern University in Illinois.
Playing on the Northwestern team, he's part of a strong golf programme that has produced several current tour players, including England 's world number14, Luke Donald. And last year Chun signalled his immense potential by becoming the first freshman (first-year student) to win the Big Ten individual title since Steve Stricker in 1986, emerging as the only competitor under par on Penn State's difficult Blue Course.
Yet Chun will not even think about turning professional until he graduates in June 2012, when he may try to join the growing band of successful Korean players on America's PGA Tour.
'I consider myself a Korean, but overall, I feel like I'm a mix of the three different cultures as I have a home back in Malaysia and Australia as well,' he said. 'They all had their different important influences on me and my golf game and were all very necessary. I don't regret any moves that we have made.'
Chun's successful passage to the 150th British Open was a much-needed boost for the inaugural Asian Amateur Championship, which had been criticised for giving a sub-standard field an easy ride to a major. That view wasn't helped when 2009 Asian Amateur champion Han Chang-won - another Korean - carded 79 and 76 at the 2010 Masters to miss the halfway cut by eight strokes. Only four players from a field of 89 finished below him.
'It was just fun watching the Masters and I didn't think about missing out,' Chun said. 'Obviously it would have been nice to play there, but I was okay with just watching.
'I don't think all the near misses made me more desperate. I just looked at it as another opportunity. If I were to pick any mistake, I think I was just too focused on wanting to make it to the US Open instead of hitting good golf shots.'
It was third time lucky for Chun as he qualified for the third major of the year to be held at the home of golf, St Andrews, in Scotland.
'I grew up picturing myself playing in the British Open,' Chun said. 'I think this is a great opportunity to see where I stand among the best players in the world and see what they do different from me. For that to happen this soon was a huge blessing.'
A devout Christian, Chun speaks with humility and his sentences are laced with references to blessings and his faith. Rather than signalling out any player as a role model, he says: 'My only hero ever is Jesus Christ, my Lord.'
Studying in the US, Chun has seen the lurid coverage of the Tiger Woods scandal from the sports pages of the nearby Chicago Tribune to the front pages of the supermarket tabloids. But he is reluctant to criticise golf's number-one player.
'It was obviously disappointing and shocking, but I'm in no place to judge him because I don't know the full story,' he said. 'I wish him the best. I still support him and have respect for him.'
And instead of making any bold predictions about emulating the amateur feats of Justin Rose at Royal Birkdale in 1998 by securing a top-five finish, Chun seems almost happy simply to make up the numbers at St Andrews.
'Obviously I do want to play well, but I'm looking at this more as a learning experience,' he says, cautiously, displaying that all-too-familiar Asian trait of under-promising but over-delivering.
'My career goals are pretty simple. It is to be the best golfer I can be and play my best in every tournament. If that gets me wins, I get wins. If that gets me top 10s, I get top 10s. If that gets me to the top of world rankings, I get there. I don't think I can do more than try to be the best golfer I can be.'
