Wenyi Ding stepped to the tee box on the first play-off hole that of last year Asia-Pacific Amateur and started dreaming for the first time.

The field of 120 players had dwindled to just three, and Ding, the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur winner, needed just one more good hole to win the event hosted annually by Augusta National, and with it his ticket to the Masters to obtain.

Heartbreak followed. Ding flamed out on the first playoff hole, and amateur Jasper Stubbs won the event and clinched a spot in golf’s first major.

This Last year, Ding stepped to the tee box on the final hole of the Asia-Pacific Amateur with a different dream in mind. Not because he didn’t argue. Not because there wasn’t a place in the Masters at stake. But rather because Ding, a 19-year-old struggling through golf’s amateur ranks, had already made one of the toughest decisions of his golfing career: he wouldn’t go.

Thing would continue win the 2024 Asia-Pacific Amateur on Sunday at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba in Fuji, Japan, outlasting a field of 120 to beat fellow Chinese youngster Ziqin Zhou by one stroke. The victory immediately marked one of the turning points in the career of one of golf’s bright young stars, guaranteeing the world’s fifth-ranked amateur an invitation to the Masters and the Open Championship.

But one can only imagine the conflicting emotions that coursed through Ding as he entered the winner’s circle, convinced he would be one of the few golfers to turn down an invitation to the Masters. You see, Ding had plans that would last much longer than his start in the APA to turn pro after the tournament via the DP World Tour’s Global Amateur Pathway, which guarantees a tour card for the world’s greatest non-collegiate amateur golfer.

The opportunity was something like a golden golf ticket: the chance to play on a high-level professional tour, for real money, with the kind of job security rarely afforded to an amateur player. It was the kind of opportunity that a player of Ding’s stature couldn’t refuse. Yet there was a problem: his invitation to the Masters and the Open Championship win the APA depended on maintaining its amateur status.

“It was difficult, but I can’t sacrifice (DP World Tour status) to wait for the Masters (and Open),” Ding said Golf Digest Evin Priester. “I know it’s a great opportunity for an amateur player, but I’m going to turn pro. (Hopefully) I can get in (those two majors) myself. (I want) to learn how to become a professional player and continue to improve myself. I want to try to score at every tournament and, if I have the chance, try to win.”

Of course, there is a chance that Ding could still be in contention for a Masters slot. The club retains absolute authority to hand out invitations to the Masters each year, and could theoretically invite Ding to participate in the event as a professional.

But that will have to wait until later this year and early next year, when the club announces its invitations. For now, Ding is the rarest breed of Asia-Pacific Amateur winner – the kind who will leave the course on Sunday with no expectation of catching on at Augusta next April.

James Colgan

Golf.com editor

James Colgan is news and features editor at GOLF, writing stories for the website and magazine. He runs the Hot Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and uses his on-camera experience across the brand’s platforms. Before joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, during which time he received a caddy scholarship (and an astute looper) on Long Island, where he is from. He can be reached at [email protected].