By Jay Leon Guerrero

Guam’s 17-year-old golf phenom Devin Hua came close to earning a spot at the Masters tournament next year in Augusta, Georgia. Hua travelled to Hong Kong to play in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championships (AAC) at Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club with fellow Guamanian Darryl Poe.

Hua shined in the opening round and shot a 5-under par score of 65 to tie for the fourth position after the first of four days. Horrible weather conditions followed as the scores dropped, including Hua’s score. He finished with a three day total of 210 or 5-over par to tie for 27th place after the tournament was called due to bad weather.

Cheng Jin, China’s top amateur golfer, finished first after three days shooting a 199, 11-under par. A pair of Australians Ryan Ruffels and Cameron Davis each shot 10-under par for second place. Jin secured a spot in the prestigious Master’s Tournament.

“The weather made playing difficult in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. There was an oncoming typhoon and the wind was blowing up to 40 mph so it made scoring really difficult,” said Hua.

After a good start, Hua said he remained focused despite the bad weather. “I thought I’ll just stick to the same game plan and take it one shot at a time.”

Over 120 holders from the Asia-Pacific region qualified and played in the tournament. The top 52 advanced to the third round, Hua advanced easily; Poe was unable to advance with rounds of 77 and 81.

“This year’s field was incredibly strong so I had to bring out my ‘A’ game for all four days (well technically three) to have a chance at the title. I played with several of these players before and it was really anybody’s tournament,” said Hua.

Hua, who attends St. John’s High School in Tumon, will continue to participate in high caliber tournaments in the region. Hua said his long term plans are to play golf in college and eventually turn pro one day.
“I arrive Guam Tuesday morning and my next tournament is the Nomura Cup in Abu Dhabi two weeks later. My long term goal is to get into a good college and play for the golf team and then ultimately turn pro after a couple years of experiencing college golf.”

Hua said he learns from every tournament and intends to improve with the experience. “My short term goal would be to fix the little mishaps in my game and develop into a better player. I learned a lot and got accustomed to playing in these extreme weather conditions.”

Stay tuned to GSPN for Devin’s progress.

Players and officials running for cover when the storm hit the course during the Final Round of the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at the Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club in Hong Kong on October 04, 2015. (Photo by Daniel Cheng/AAC)