Seventeen-year-old Hong Kong resident Shinichi Mizuno is set to pit his skills against some of the top golfers in the world at this year’s UBS Hong Kong Open.
Mizuno, a native of Japan who has lived in Hong Kong for the past 11 years, qualified by winning the 2011 Hong Kong Close Amateur Championship at Kau Sai Chau earlier in the year and looks forward to improving on his 120th overall finish at the 2010 UBS Hong Kong Open when he shot a 70 and 73.
“I think my expectations have changed slightly from last year,” said Mizuno. “This year my goal is to definitely make the cut and I really want to get the lowest amateur. My game has improved greatly in the last year as well and I am anxious to see how I will perform at this high a level.”
Mizuno is a product of the Hong Kong Golf Association Junior Development program where he has spent the last four years under the tutelage of National coach Brad Schadewitz and recently finished second in the individual standings at the 2011 Putra Cup, the Southeast Asian Golf Team Championship.
“Over the last year he has a lot more experience playing bigger events and is now more used to being in a host of pressure situations,” said Schadewitz. “The more times you are in those situations the easier it is. Right now though, Shinichi is balancing his golf with his studies and being a full time student. But he has a pure golf swing and certainly has enough game to be competitive and this should be another great experience for him.”
A student at West Island School, Mizuno admits to have been somewhat in awe of playing in the UBS Hong Kong Open last year as a 16 year old.
“It was a little overwhelming seeing people like Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell on the putting green with you,” he said. “But once the golf started I was ok and one of the highlights of the week for me was playing alongside Anthony Kang when he shot a 61 in the second round.”
Mizuno admits his primary goal is trying to secure a golf scholarship at a United States university and a good showing in UBS Hong Kong Open can only help that. As far as golfing idols he claims that he does not really have any he idolizes but that Korean American star Anthony Kim is a player he sees some similarities in.
“I like his game and I think him and I have similar body types and much in common in our swings,” said Mizuno.
Joining Mizuno in representing Hong Kong at this year’s UBS Hong Kong Open will be professionals Tim Tang, Cheng Ka Yiu and Ronald Totton, who all qualified through the event’s qualifying tournament as well as China’s Huang Yongle who made it through the Hong Kong Open Amateur and Mid Amateur Golf Championships.
