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The youngest. The shortest. The lightest.
Jaden Soong will be all of the above Monday when the 13-year-old from Burbank, California, who stands 5-foot-2 and weighs 115 pounds, joins more than 500 other golfers in final qualifying for the 2023 U.S. Open.
He hits the ball up to 280 yards with his driver.
“I’m expecting some people to be a little shocked and surprised,” Soong told USA TODAY Sports.
But the kid and his prodigious golf game no longer are a secret.
On May 15, during the first stage of qualifying for the U.S. Open – set for June 15-18 in Los Angeles – Soong sunk a 12-foot playoff putt and celebrated with a Tigeresque fist pump. He had just become the youngest player ever to advance to the second and final stage of qualifying for the U.S. Open.
On Monday, depending on how he plays in a 36-hole competition at Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles, Soong could become the youngest player ever to secure a spot in the U.S. Open. The current record is held by Andy Zhang, who was 14 when he played in the 2012 U.S. Open.
Jaden Soong
This year’s U.S. Open will be played at the Los Angeles Country Club, less than 30 miles from where Soong lives with his parents.
“That definitely would be really cool and exciting,” said Soong, a seventh grader. “I’m not really putting too much of that into it, because I kind of want to go in there with no expectations.”
What is Jaden Soong’s source of power?
During the 2021-22 PGA season, Tiger Woods had an average driving distance of 310 yards – about 30 yards longer than Soong’s top drive. But Woods, at 6-1 and 185 yards, is almost a foot taller and 70 pounds heavier than Soong.
“It’s pretty cool because golf is one of those sports where (size) really doesn’t matter,” Soong said. “I mean, it definitely does matter, but not as much as like baseball, football, or something. It’s just really how strong mentally you are.”
But how does he generate so much power with his driver?
A growth spurt that led to muscle spasms helped, according to Soong’s father, Chris.
In February 2022, at the recommendation of an orthopedic spine surgeon, Soong stopped golfing for three months and worked on his core muscles, according to his father. At the time he was driving the ball 210 to 220 yards.
When Soong began playing again, he was driving the ball 230 to 240 yards, his father said.
“I was like whoa,” Chris Soong said upon seeing the benefits of fitness training.
In December, Soong began…
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Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golfweek…
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