Macleans College golfer Jimmy Zheng has been selected to represent New Zealand at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.
His selection comes off the back of strong international form, and he’s excited at the opportunity to compete against the world’s best young golfers.
Zheng will compete in two divisions at the Games. First up is the men’s individual championships held from 9 – 11 October. Following this, he will compete as a team with Juliana Hung (Burnside High School, Christchurch) in the mixed event from 13 – 15 October.
Zheng is in similar form to that which won him the 2018 South Island Under 19 Championship. The 16-year-old started the final round two shots behind, to then shoot seven-under 66 and win by two.
He recently won the Ryan Moore Junior Championship in America in a breakthrough result against a very strong international field. He followed that success with a 5th place finish at the IMG Academy Junior World and a 4th at the ACDS Junior Championships, all of which are rated as top class junior events.
“I love the competitive atmosphere around golf and also the ability to connect with people from different parts of the world,” said Zheng.
“Seeing the improvements after hours of training is also really rewarding.”
The 2018 Youth Olympic Games will be the third summer youth Games, following those in Singapore in 2010 and Nanjing in 2014.
The Games are a pre-elite development opportunity for the world’s most promising young athletes, allowing them to experience a multi-sport games environment while exposing them to learning and cultural opportunities and helping them on the performance pathway.
The Youth Olympic Games will run from October 6-18th in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Click here for the original article.