Few 20-year-olds have a Masters start on their resume and fewer still have two. Yuxin Lin, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur (2017, 2019), is in that select group, having just put the finishing touches on his second start at Augusta National as an amateur.
Lin made an early exit both times – missing the cut in 2018 with rounds of 79-80 and doing so again last week with rounds of 79-73. Lin reported spending part of his one-night stay in the Crow’s Nest at Augusta National doing homework.
Golfweek learned on Wednesday that Lin, a USC sophomore, has entered the transfer portal. Lin did not compete this fall with his Trojan team as the Pac-12 halted all fall college competition, like many other conferences around the country.
As a freshman at USC last season, Lin had four top-15 finishes in five starts, ending with the individual title at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in March.
Lin is ranked No. 22 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Before the Masters, he was eighth at the Azalea Invitational, played at the Country Club of Charleston (South Carolina).
“He’s a terrific young man and we wish him the best,” USC head coach J.T. Higgins told Golfweek by text when asked for comment.
Higgins replaced longtime USC coach Chris Zambri in August after Zambri left his position in a mutual parting of ways with the university.
The transfer portal has seen unprecedented movement over the past six months after the NCAA granted college golfers an extra year of eligibility to make up for a postseason lost to COVID-19 cancellations.
