FRESHMAN (2023-24):
NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS PRIOR TO TEMPE
WENYI ON SIGNING WITH THE SUN DEVILS
"When I was looking into universities, we had a serious covid situation in China. I couldn't go out to show my golf skills to the coaches. My only way was sending an email to the coach. I was lucky. Matt and Armen had discovered me and they gave me a chance to be a Sun Devil. Thomas also has helped me a lot. I'm really excited to be a member of this Sun Devil family."
COACH THURMOND ON WENYI ON SIGNING DAY
"Ding caught my eye at the 2019 Asia Pacific Amateur in Shanghai. We kept tabs on him and saw from a distance that he was winning everything in China. Last June, we finally could talk with him and realized he is a huge ASU fan and everything just worked out great. He's a really elite player. I was blown away by his mental toughness, presence, and clutch putting at the U.S. Junior this year."
- Won the 118th Southern Amateur in July of 2024 (156-player field)
- Earned both Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year, first Sun Devil to win both
- Also earned first-team PING All-America honors. Ding and Auburn's Jackson Koivun were the only freshman on the 11-man team, and he is just the fifth Sun Devil to earn first-team All-America in the past 17 seasons. He joins Preston Summerhays (2023), Chun An Yu (2019), Jon Rahm (2016 and 2015) and Max Rotluff (2015)
- First Sun Devil freshman to earn first-team honors since Alejandro Canizares in 2003.
- Finished the year ranked third by Scoreboard/Clippd with a 69.56 stroke average, as he notched six top-10 and four top-five finishes in eight tournaments, including a ridiculous victory at the Amer Ari Invitational in just his second event.
- Posted a 27-under 189 (63-64-62) at the Amer Ari, the first collegiate golfer to break 190, and helped ASU to a trio of tournament titles in the spring, including its first Pac-12 Championship since 2008.
- Posted 12 rounds in the 60s and 16 of his 25 rounds were at par or better.
NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS PRIOR TO TEMPE
- US Junior Amateur Champion (Bandon Dunes, 2022)
- Youngest Champion on the China Tour
- Top 20 (Currently #17) World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR)
WENYI ON SIGNING WITH THE SUN DEVILS
"When I was looking into universities, we had a serious covid situation in China. I couldn't go out to show my golf skills to the coaches. My only way was sending an email to the coach. I was lucky. Matt and Armen had discovered me and they gave me a chance to be a Sun Devil. Thomas also has helped me a lot. I'm really excited to be a member of this Sun Devil family."
COACH THURMOND ON WENYI ON SIGNING DAY
"Ding caught my eye at the 2019 Asia Pacific Amateur in Shanghai. We kept tabs on him and saw from a distance that he was winning everything in China. Last June, we finally could talk with him and realized he is a huge ASU fan and everything just worked out great. He's a really elite player. I was blown away by his mental toughness, presence, and clutch putting at the U.S. Junior this year."