Like Smith, Guan wins at TPC Sawgrass

MAYBE there’s something in the water which seemingly threatens almost every shot at the famous Tournament Players Club in Sawgrass, Florida.

Or maybe it just suits the ‘eye’ of the Aussies who have done so well there.

Now young Sydneysider Jeffrey Guan has thrust his name up there beside Cameron Smith as a 2022 winner at one of the toughest golf courses anywhere in the world, the TPC Sawgrass.

The 18-year-old from the southern Sydney suburb of Bexley is a member at the iconic The Australian Golf Club in Sydney and has already caught the eye of coaches with his talent and desire.

Now he has won the American Junior Golf Association Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, Florida leading all the way with rounds of 67-69-64 to blitz a quality field to register a four-shot victory.

And just in case you have forgotten, it’s the same venue where Queenslander Cameron Smith scored a mighty victory on the US PGA Tour’s Tournament Players Championship just a few months ago.

Guan’s three-round total of 16-under par shattered the previous tournament record for that event by six shots.

And Guan later admitted that Smith’s TPC win was on his mind.

“It definitely did occur to me,” he said.

“Smith is a class player and he attracts plenty of people to the game.

“This is a PGA Tour course and I am pretty proud of myself.  I loved it here. I wanted to win and I played well.

“The course was just sensational. And it was set up exactly how they had it during the Players Championship. So, winning here felt pretty special.”

Guan held off North Carolina’s Jackson Koivun with nine birdies and one bogey including an amazing run when he had seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch.

For Guan it was simply a continuation of his stunning recent form which saw him reach the quarter-finals of the US Junior Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes, Oregon in August after a fourth place finish in the historic Trans-Miss Championship at Denver Country Club in July.

Guan began the final round tied for the lead with Koivun but by the seventh hole had a one-shot lead before pulling away with four birdies in a row from the eighth hole. After he parred the 12th Guan and his group had to wait over an hour to finish as storms threatened to derail his charge to the title.

Still, the break didn’t halt his charge as he birdied his next two holes after play resumed to establish what was eventually the tournament-winning lead. 

Guan’s Junior Players win was his second in the US this year after also winning the Adam Scott invitational in California in February.