Wenyi Ding is officially on his way to the DP World Tour.
The 19-year-old Ding, who recently won the Asia-Pacific Amateur, has opted to bypass his exemptions earned from that victory and accept full DPWT membership for next season via the Global Amateur Pathway ranking.
Ding, who left Arizona State this summer after playing one semester for the Sun Devils, will make his professional debut at this week’s Hangzhou Open, a Challenge Tour event in his native China.
“I’m excited to start my journey as a professional and look forward to teeing it up on the DP World Tour next season,” Ding said. “The Global Amateur Pathway has given me an incredible opportunity, and my thanks go to the DP World Tour, The R&A and the PGA Tour for supporting me and my fellow amateur players to reach their goals.”
The GAP ranking, in its first year, was created this past June as a complement to PGA Tour University and to provide non-collegiate amateur players a pathway to the DPWT and other pro tours. To be eligible for GAP, players can’t be an active NCAA Division-I player, and they must also be at least 20 years old and ranked in the top 200 of WAGR. Current pros Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Min Woo Lee would have been among the players to earn DPWT cards had GAP been in effect during their amateur days.
In addition to Ding, eight other players received some sort of status via GAP:
Challenge Tour membership went to Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen, Spain’s Luis Masaveu and France’s Bastian Amat. Olesen, the reigning British Amateur winner, still has a decision to make as he, too, has major exemptions, including a Masters invite, afforded to him if he remains amateur.
PGA Tour Americas membership (for the Latin swing only) went to former NCAA players Nathan Petronzio, Peter Fountain, Ben Warian and Jake Hall.
And a Sunshine Tour card went to South Africa’s Tyran Snyders.
“The Global Amateur Pathway is a key component of the pathways system we’ve developed on the DP World Tour, in collaboration with our partners at The R&A and PGA Tour,” said Guy Kinnings, DP World Tour chief executive. “It brings together the best global talent and provides them with a worldwide platform to showcase their abilities. Congratulations to Wenyi Ding on becoming the inaugural winner, setting a high standard for future stars to follow, and we look forward to welcoming him to the DP World Tour next season.”