China's Jin Cheng wins ticket to the Masters after Typhoon Mujigae blows away final round of Asia-Pacific Amateur
China's Jin Cheng booked his ticket to the Masters after being crowned champion of the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship when Sunday’s fourth round was cancelled at Clearwater Bay.
A long suspension in play, due to high winds and rainfall from Typhoon Mujigae, meant the final round was abandoned and Jin, the 54-hole leader at 11-under-par, became the winner over joint runners-up, Ryan Ruffels and Cameron Davis of Australia.
Jin's prize is direct entry to the fabled Masters at Augusta, and an opportunity to take part in qualifying for the British Open.
“While weather regrettably shortened the event, we have identified a very worthy and talented champion in Cheng Jin,” said Billy Payne, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament.
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “Cheng Jin has played tremendously well this week and is a deserving champion. We are very much looking forward to welcoming Cheng and the runners-up, to The Open Qualifying Series for The 145th Open at Royal Troon in July. I know the players will be disappointed not to have been able to play the final round today but they should take great credit for their performances this week.”
China's No. 1-ranked amateur golfer, from Beijing, becomes the second player from the country to win the event after Guan Tianlang in 2012.
“It is extremely disappointing that we are not able to complete the final round of this year's Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship,” said David Cherry, Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation.
“It was a very difficult decision to make as we wanted to see the completion of 72 holes as much as all the competitors did. The competition committee was committed to completing the final round on Sunday if at all possible, however the extreme weather conditions meant that completing in daylight would not be possible.”