Wenyi Ding: Facts To Know, Bio & Wins For Chinese Golfer

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published 10 October 2024

Hailing from Beijing, big things are expected from Wenyi Ding after just one stellar season at the same college as Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm.

Get to know him a little better with this facts about the Chinese star with a future in the pros...

1. Wenyi Ding was born in Beijing, China, on 19 November 2004.

2. Ding went to college at Arizona State in the United States - the same school as Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm.

3. In his first year as a Sun Devil he won Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year - the first man from his college to win both.

4. His first amateur win came in just his second event at the Amer Ari Invitational where he shot 189 to become the first college player to break 190 in the three-round event.

5. Ding won the Southern Amateur Championship in July 2024, coming first from a field of 156.

6. He was the US Junior Amateur champion in 2022 at Bandon Dunes, becoming the first Chinese man to win a USGA title.

7. He played in the 2023 US Open in Los Angeles, but missed the cut shooting 72-77.

8. His first start in a regular PGA Tour event came at the 2024 Procore Championship, where he missed the cut.

9. He's been as high as 4th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

10. He was Arizona State freshman to win first-team All American honors since Alejandro Canizares in 2003.

11. His stellar first year at college saw him top the new Global Amateur Pathway standings and be eligible for a DP World Tour card - but only if he was not in college.

12. In October 2024, Ding announced his intention to quite college, turn pro and take up his DP World Tour card.

13. Ding won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in October 2024 which gave him a place in the 2025 Masters and Open Championship, but he turned both down in order to go through with his plans to turn pro.

Wenyi Ding bio

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Full name	Wenyi Ding
Born	19 November 2004
College	Arizona State
Height	6ft 3in
Tour	DP World Tour
Turned pro	2024
Highest amateur ranking	No.4
Majors	1 (M/C at 2023 US Open)

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.

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Wenyi Ding bio