Arizona State freshman Wenyi Ding isn’t just a college golf champion – he’s also likely an NCAA record-holder.
En route to winning the prestigious Amer Ari Invitational by nine shots, Ding fired a 10-under 62 in the final round around Mauna Lani’s North Course to finish off a 27-under 189, which is believed to be an NCAA men’s 54-hole scoring record.
While college-golf record-keeping is incomplete, the sport’s resident X historian, College Golf Book, says Ding’s 189 is the lowest mark in men’s college golf, besting the previous record of 192 shared by Alabama’s Bobby Wyatt, Tennessee’s Caleb Surratt and Arizona State’s Jon Rahm.
Ding’s closing 62 also tied a program record for 18-hole score in relation to par. Paul Casey, Preston Summerhays and Jeff Quinney also have recorded 10-under rounds for the Sun Devils, with Casey’s 60 also equaling an NCAA record. Rahm shot 9-under 61 and 9-under 62 during his four-year college career.
Ding’s record-tying round included 10 birdies and no bogeys, and it followed rounds of 63-64. The 2022 U.S. Junior champion, who is ranked No. 13 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, shot 17 under and was second in his tournament debut for Arizona State last month at the N.I.T. after missing the fall semester because of national-team obligations to his native China.
It goes without saying that Ding’s 44-under start to his college career has never been done before, either.
Washington’s Finn Koelle and San Jose State’s Carl Corpus tied for second at 18 under while North Carolina’s David Ford and Auburn’s Jackson Koivun, two potential first-team All-Americans this season, tied for fourth with Texas Tech’s Matthew Comegys at 17 under.
North Carolina took the team title at 68 under, five shots clear of Arizona State. Auburn, currently ranked first in the country ahead of the No. 2 Tar Heels, was third at 58 under.
Further down the leaderboard, Stanford dropped four places on the final day, finishing solo 11th despite welcoming back star Michael Thorbjornsen from injury. Thorbjornsen, a senior who is No. 1 in PGA Tour U, tied for 71st, nearly equaling his worst result as a college golfer (T-74 at 2021 Cabo Collegiate, his second career college start).
