Chen wins the NCAA Big East Championship
For the last few months, it has really felt like Peicheng Chen was going to break out and win a big college tournament. Today, it happened. He put in an impressive performance at the Big East Men's Golf Championship, shooting 2-under over three rounds at the long and demanding Riverton Pointe Golf and Country Club in South Carolina to beat Shaun Campbell of Creighton by a shot.
I love the way Chen is swinging these days, but I was especially impressed with how he handled the final round. We had a long talk the night before, and he was determined to come out firing and go for it—no playing cautiously to try to guarantee a high finish. He started the day tied for the lead with Aidan Lafferty of Marquette and immediately double bogied the first hole and bogeyed the second to fall four shots off the lead. But there's no quit in Chen, and he birdied his fifth and sixth holes to get back into contention and played flawless golf on the back nine to win his third college event.
The next stop is the NCAA Tournament, and then a full summer qualifying and competing in events around the Northeast and (hopefully) the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine and Chaska Town Course in Minnesota. Great job, Chen, and what a way to finish out your junior year!
Chen practicing on a cold spring day, Alpha Beta and Gamma Coordinates have been added to the club.
Post championship interview
