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Jaden Soong of St. Francis becomes the youngest SCGA amateur champion
High school golf in Southern California is about to get a lot stronger with the arrival of 14-year-old freshman Jaden Soong at St. Francis High.
On Thursday, Soong became the youngest winner of the Southern California Golf Assn. Amateur Championship in the tournament's 125-year history at Saticoy Club in Somis. He finished the four-round tournament at 10-under par. He began with a 75 in the first round, followed by rounds of 68, 69 and 66 on Thursday, including a birdie on No. 18 for a five-stroke victory.
He earned an automatic entry for the USGA Amateur Championship.
Soong said he looked at names of past winners on the trophy and saw Tiger Woods and Patrick Cantlay, among others. Now his name will be added as the 2024 champion.
"To be on the same trophy as them, that's amazing," he said.
As an example of Soong's youthfulness (he doesn't turn 15 until January), the second-place finisher at five-under was Mitchell Fedorka, the seventh-year golf coach at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Kyle An, a junior golfer at UCLA, tied for third at four-under.
Soong handled the pressure with great success, recording six birdies and no bogies over the final 18 holes. "I made a few good saves," he said.
Soong's success isn't a surprise. As a 13-year-old seventh-grader, he made it to a 36-hole competition trying to qualify for the U.S. Open championship in 2023.
The Burbank resident was the subject of an intense effort to attract him for his potential high school golf skills. St. Francis won out, and he'll begin classes next month.
It's already been a good summer for girls' golf in Southern California, with Leigh Chien of Santa Margarita winning the Girls High School Golf National Invitational this past week in Frisco, Texas. Next week the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship will be held at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
