Aspiring Lin hopes to ride The American Express to victory

Aspiring Chinese golfer Lin Yuxin hopes to eclipse the stars at The American Express in La Quinta, California, starting on Thursday as he seeks to maintain his learning curve since joining the game's professional ranks last year.

The 23-year-old left-hander emerged as one to watch among Asia's young golfers after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship twice in 2017 and 2019, which rewarded him with prized starts at the Masters Tournament and Open Championship.

Seeing compatriot Carl Yuan Yechun produce an eye-catching fourth place tied finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii last weekend has also inspired Lin ahead of this week's $8.4 million PGA Tour tournament, which features 21 players in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay (No 5), Xander Schauffele (No 6) and 2023 US Open winner Wyndham Clark (No 10).

The in-form Yuan is also among this week's stellar field, and will be joined by South Korean stars Im Sung-jae, Tom Kim and Kim Si-woo, who triumphed in The American Express in 2021, and upcoming Japanese golfers Taiga Semikawa and Ryo Hisatsune.

"The competition is way more competitive out here … everyone here is among the best in the world, so it's definitely more challenging. But, at the same time, it's also a very good opportunity for me, so I'm just excited to get this week going," said Lin.

He graduated from the University of Florida last summer and gained status on the Korn Ferry Tour where he made nine starts, making four cuts, including a best of T15 at the 2023 Compliance Solutions Championship. The American Express, the third tournament of the 2024 FedEx Cup Season, will be his sixth PGA Tour start and his first since finishing a commendable T52 at the Shriners Children's Open in October.

"It was more like a learning experience for me in my first season out on tour (last year). It's a little different than in college, and I'm trying to get used to things, and trying to get better along the way. It was a very good experience and I've learned a lot," he said.

"The most important thing is to try to play my game and stick to my game plan, hopefully play some good golf and the results will take care of themselves. I don't like to set result goals, but more with my game, as I want to make sure I'm on the right track and that I keep improving."

Like many other golf fans from China, Lin was rooting for Yuan in last week's Sony Open, where the latter fought into contention during the final round, before finishing one back from a three-way playoff, which was won by Grayson Murray. No Chinese mainland player has won on the PGA Tour and Lin was hoping Yuan would break the duck.

"I've known Carl for a long time and it's really fun to watch him on TV. He had a really good chance of winning last week. I was really happy for him and it motivates me even more to come out here and try to play good golf," said Lin.

The American Express includes 156 professionals and 156 amateurs, competing at PGA West's Stadium Course (host course), the Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club. No amateurs will be included after the cut (54-hole, low 65 and ties).