Jaden Soong begins high school next month when he starts attending St. Francis High in La Canada Flintridge.
But the Burbank resident still has a lot of golf to play before he attends his first day of classes.
Soong recently won the Southern California Golf Association amateur championship, and became the youngest winner in the 125-year history of the event. He shot a combined 10-under-par 278 over four days at The Saticoy Club in Somis, near Camarillo. Soong shot six-under-par 66 on the final day.
“The feeling is indescribable. When I won, it was probably the greatest feeling ever. When I heard Tiger’s name was on the trophy, that was honestly the best part of it,” the 14-year-old, who won by five strokes, said. “I’m on the same trophy as Tiger Woods. It doesn’t get any better than that for me.”
Soong, who has been a prodigy since a young age, even drew the attention of the late Kobe Bryant, who even gave him advice.
“I really look up to Kobe and his mentality. He said to me ‘Don’t play with fear, but don’t play to win’. It is almost like you are trying to play in between where it is. If you play to win then you are afraid of failure, but if you play with fear you will never be successful. You want to find that intermediate spot where you are playing to learn, you are playing to grow and you are playing to get better every single day,” Soong said.
Soong tees off Tuesday morning in San Diego in an American Junior Golf Association All-Star event.
Next week he is off to compete in an event at Notre Dame University. Next month he will play in the 124th U.S. Amateur Championship, which will be played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.
Soong said he plays regularly at both DeBell and at Brookside in Pasadena, but is also playing at other courses.
“Lakeside has been very nice to me in allowing me to go there,” Soong said.
Soong, who graduated from Thomas Starr King Middle School in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles, said for coaching he is working with Burbank’s Dr. Rick Sessinghaus for the mental game and swing. He is working with coach Brendan Flynn, who is based in the San Fernando Valley, for putting.
