Teenager tops Rotary golf ladies flight

Zhi Min Jin, second from left first row, poses with other ladies flight winners and Rotary Club of Saipan officials led by president Ivan Ilmov, third from left second row, during the 2021 Rotary Goodwill Golf Classic Tournament awards banquet last Saturday at Saipan World Resort. (MARK RABAGO)

At the rate she’s going, teenage golfer Zhi Min Jin may just have to bust out those camouflage shorts. This, after the 14-year-old Marianas High School beat players twice her age to win the ladies flight of last Saturday’s Rotary Goodwill Golf Classic Tournament at the Coral Ocean Resort.

Jin won the division after shooting an 82 built around a 39 in the front nine and a 43 in the back that included a birdie in the par-3 hole No. 3.

She has been improving steadily the past seven years since she picked up the sport. Jin is now under the tutelage of many time national player Joe “Kamikaze” Camacho and she attributes a lot of her success in the golf course to him.

“I really respect him as a teacher and I feel honored to be learning from him. He’s a really good instructor,” she said.

Camacho said the CNMI National Golf Team member for next year’s Pacific Mini Games has been a star pupil under his watch.

“She’s always putting in the work and her approach and commitment is like no other and she’s also very disciplined. I’m very proud of her and only time will tell on just how good she can be,” he said.

Camacho, whose trademark is wearing camo shorts while playing golf, said her student winning the ladies flight of the Rotary Goodwill Golf Classic was also very special for him.

“As a coach it’s those special occasions like this where you make a difference in someone’s game and skill level. You always want to get them to where they want to be,” he added.

As for the conditions last Saturday, Jin said the fairways were pretty good, but the greens were a little slower than expected.

She admitted that she has some issues with the weather though. “It was terrible. We just stopped playing when it rained and go on when it stopped.”

Curiously, the hole where she birdied was where she had the most problems. “Hole No. 3 was a problem. It was a big obstacle because the wind was strong that day. I think I was just a little lucky [for making the birdie],” she said.

Finishing a stroke behind Jin was Sherlyn Jones with her 83 (42-41), while Ma Ae Jeon and Lim Hyun Sook cracked the Top 4 with scores of 85 (44-41) and 85 (44-41), respectively. The former beat the latter via scorecard tiebreak.

For coming in first in the ladies flight, Jin took home $500, while Jones settled for the $300 runner-up purse. Jeon won $200 and Sook received $100 for finishing in the Top 4.

In the B flight, Darion Jones became $500 richer after winning the division with his 7-over 79. He had 11 pars en route to shooting a 38 in the front nine and a 41 in the back.

Coming in second and winning $300 was Ben Pelisamen. He came away with an 81 (40-41), while completing the Top 4 were Carl Hocog (82, 43-39) and Domingo Atalig (87, 44-43). Hocog and Atalig went home with $200 and $100, respectively.

Results of the other flights of last Saturday’s Rotary Goodwill Golf Classic Tournament will be published in the next issue of Saipan Tribune.