May 23, 2012
ATLANTA – Shun Yat Hak, the nation’s consensus No. 1 junior golfer and the 29th-ranked amateur player in the world, has signed a letter-of-intent to play his college golf at Georgia Tech, head coach Bruce Heppler announced Wednesday.
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Hak, who goes by “Jason,” is originally from Hong King but has lived in Lake Mary, Fla., since age 11, attending Lake Mary Prep. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Junior rankings, the AJGA Polo Golf rankings and the Junior Golf Scoreboard. Hak has been a first-team Rolex Junior All-American twice (2009, 2011) and second-team once (2010).
“He’s played at a level the last two or three years that is as impressive as anyone we’ve ever had in the program,” said Heppler of Hak, who will enroll in classes for Tech’s second summer session and be eligible to play this fall. “He’s a great kid. He loves playing, loves practicing, and he really wants to go to school at Georgia Tech.
“The thing we like about him the most is that the AJGA plays their invitationals on their hardest golf courses during the season, and his success rate in those is tremendous. His ability to play really well on hard golf courses says a lot about his game. There really is nothing that he doesn’t do pretty well. His game is well-rounded, and he’s passionate about playing.”
Among Hak’s accomplishments as a junior player are victories at the 2012 AJGA HP Boys Championship, the 2011 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions, the 2011 AJGA Taylor Made-Adidas Golf Junior, the 2010 Florida Azalea Amateur, the 2009 Mizuno Junior at Innisbrook and the 2009 AJGA Cliffs Championship.
Hak tied for 46th at the 2011 UBS Hong Kong Open, a European Tour event, and broke Sergio Garcia’s record for youngest player to make a European Tour cut when he did so at the 2008 Hong Kong Open.
Tech now has two incoming freshmen for the fall semester. Michael Hines, the No. 2-ranked junior in the state of Georgia and No. 48 overall, signed a letter-of-intent with the Yellow Jackets in the November early signing period.