As a golfer, having your name uttered in the same breath as Tiger Woods for your achievements on the course is quite a feat, but to have your name mentioned with Woods for breaking his records in undeniably remarkable.Such a feat has been accomplished by Smithtown transplant by way of Queens, Jim Liu.
This past July, Liu, then 14 years old, became the youngest Junior Amateur Champion in the history of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship when he fired the equivalent of a 64 in the first of the two-round championship round in Ada, Michigan. He surpassed Tiger Woods' record to win the U.S. Amateurs.
Because of his accomplishments, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy honored Liu with a proclamation in late November.
"It was a great honor to meet Mr. Levy and to receive a proclamation from him and Suffolk County," Liu said.
"Jim's accomplishments are refreshing," Levy said. "The hours that go into perfecting a craft are countless. It's obvious he has put in an extraordinary amount of work and it is that work ethic that I find so refreshing from such a young man."
Winning both the championship this summer, being named in the same sentence as Woods, his childhood idol, Liu admitted was a great honor for him.
"I've always been influenced by Tiger Woods," Liu said. "He was a big hero of mine growing up and I've always looked up to him for how great of an athlete he was and how great he was in golf."
Jim and his family moved from Queens to Smithtown when he was five-and-a-half years old, and began playing golf when he was six years old. He admitted that he and his family had no idea how to play the game at first.
"We thought it'd be funny to live in a town and not know how to play golf," he said. "So we went to a driving range and a local clinic to try to get a feel of what it's about and I actually loved the game at the clinic."
Liu credited his parents for keeping him discipline and for helping him stay dedicated to his craft.
Jim's father, Yiming Liu, strongly believed his son has a gift, and is enjoying what Jim loves to do.
"I always remind him to make sure that he has fun," he said. "And I always support him, that's the key."
Jim spends about three-to-four hours daily working on his golfing game.
"If you really love the game, you just have to embrace it and work hard at it," he said. It'll all pay off in the future — you never have to think about practicing that much. It's more about enjoying the game while you're practicing."
Liu's accolades on course accolades are matched his accolades achieved in the classroom as the gold prodigy is maintaining A's in all of his classes. Currently, colleges are recruiting the student-athlete.
"I definitely see myself going to college," he said. "I'm not sure yet where I'm going, I'm just starting the recruiting process but that's something I'm looking forward. Hopefully after college golf, I'll go pro and maybe I can fulfill my dream to be the best that I can."
