Shawn Lu To Compete At PGA's Sony Open
January 13, 2016 | Men's Golf
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Shawn Lu, who will join the Oregon State men's golf program next fall, qualified for the PGA's first full field event of the year, which begins Thursday.
Lu, a native of Honolulu, Hawai'i, will compete at the 2016 Sony Open, a PGA Tour event that will be played at the Waialae Country Club in Hawai'i.
He qualified for the Sony Open by going birdie-birdie on the final two holes to finish at 4 under and win a Governor's Amateur Cup that was played in Honolulu in November.
The Sony Open field includes some of the best golfers in the world, including Adam Scott, Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, Brandt Snedeker and Jimmy Walker, to name a few.
“There is no substitute for tournament experience and this is as good as it gets for a high schooler,” Oregon State head coach Jon Reehoorn said. “Shawn is going to have the opportunity to compete against the best in the world, learn from them, and along the way gain some confidence.”
Lu signed a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 12, 2015 to join the Beaver golf program beginning with the 2016-17 season.
Reehoorn on Shawn Lu the day of his signing: “Shawn has very good hands. His short game and putting are the strength to his game, which keep him in the game when he doesn't have his best from tee to green and also allows him to shoot some really low scores when his ball striking is good.
“Perhaps one of his greatest strengths is his comfort level when it comes to winning tournaments. He has done it on multiple occasions at home on the islands and here on the mainland.”
Lu, who is currently a senior at Moanalua High School, won the 2015 Hawai'i State Amateur Championship by six shots and finished seventh at the AJGA Under Armour/Hunter Mahan Championship that same year.
In 2014 he claimed medalist honors at the AJGA Preseason Junior and Junior Americas Cup. Along with Hara, he helped Team Hawai'i win the title at the 2014 Junior Americas Cup.
Other student-athletes in the 2016-17 class include Kyosuke Hara from Honolulu, Hawai'i and Diego San Pedro from Richmond, British Columbia.
