Jin closing on Tour target

In his professional debut, Jin Cheng is on track to lock up full membership for the upcoming PGA Tour Series China season after a second-round, 1-over 71 moved him to 2-under at the Chinese mainland qualifying tournament at Foison Golf Club in Guangzhou on Wednesday.

Jin headed into the third round five shots ahead of 17-year-old amateur Liang Enqi, whose even-par 70 was the lowest score of the day.

Yin Yongxuan was alone in third at 6-over.

Last month Jin made the difficult decision to leave the University of Southern California midway through his junior year, and he is now looking to kickstart his pro career by earning one of 12 full cards available for the 2019 season.

Finishers 13-35 this week, including ties, earn conditional status through the first six events.

"I didn't have as hot a start as Tuesday, but I managed to hang in there. I was 2-under with three to go, but unfortunately I didn't have a great finish," Jin said.

Jin, who played the 2016 Masters thanks to his victory at the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, teed off on hole 10 and made the turn at level-par after following up a bogey on No 14 with a birdie on 15. He then picked up birdies on Nos 3 and 5 but went bogey-par-double bogey on his final three holes.

Despite the disappointing finish, Jin said he is enjoying the conditions at Foison, which will also host the Tour's next two global qualifying tournaments before it heads to Phuket, Thailand, in March for the third and final global qualifier.

"The conditions are nice, especially on the greens. I mean the greens are really, really nice," said Jin.

"I'm enjoying the course a lot, but there are some challenges that make it interesting. It's not long, so course management is very important here."

Jin remains the youngest player to win on the tour when he won the 2014 Nine Dragons Open at age 16. Now the 20-year-old is looking to earn the chance to emulate that success as a professional and follow in the footsteps of compatriot Yuan Yechun, who left the University of Washington early and turned pro, parlaying his fall season on the tour into a Web.com Tour card.

"There wasn't much difference between my front nine on Tuesday and today. I just made a mistake on the last hole," said Jin.

"My ball ended up on the edge of the bunker. There wasn't much I could do, so I just have to learn from that and try not to do it tomorrow."

Although it seems virtually assured that Jin will finish in the top 12, he refuses to consider that until the task at hand is complete.

"I'm trying not to think too far ahead," said Jin. "All I can do is play my game. It's always important to stay in the present and keep improving."

Second-place Liang is also on track to earn a full card after a steady round featuring four birdies and four bogeys.

The teenager had three birdies and a bogey on his first five holes before dropping shots on Nos 12 and 15. He picked up his final birdie on No 17.