Alex Ching has a long list of memorable moments in his athletic career, and he just turned 25 earlier this month. Outrigger Resorts is betting he has many more in him.
Ching won the Sony Open in Hawaii’s 2007 Pro-Junior Skills Challenge — with Punahou classmate Michelle Wie as his pro. Ching would play in the Sony Open the following year and win the 100th Manoa Cup.
He collected two state high school tennis championships in doubles, then completed the trifecta with a state golf title his senior season.
As a freshman at University of San Diego, he held the lead in the final round of the NCAA Championship. As a junior and senior, he was West Coast Conference Golfer of the Year.
He turned pro after earning his communications degree, hopped on a plane and finished in the Top 25 three times in four PGA Tour Latinoamerica starts.
That left him 13 cents short of earning his playing privileges for 2013.
He found himself without a tour last year and proceeded to qualify for this second year of the PGA Tour China Series. The top five on the money list in November get Web.com cards.
His willingness to branch out only confirmed what Ching told Golfweek at the end of his sometime-harrowing, always adventurous 2013 season in Latin America.
"Now that I’ve played here," Ching said, "the Asian Tour doesn’t sound so scary."
He missed the cut in his first start and is about to embark on the meat of the 13-tournament schedule that ends over Thanksgiving in Shenzhen.
The China Series starts back up May 14 with the St. Andrews Henan Open at Zhengzhou. It is the first of four tournaments in five weeks and Ching will be wearing Outrigger’s logo for all of it. He and the resort announced the "kamaaina" partnership April 20.
"Outrigger is dedicated to sharing our brand with visitors around the world who are looking to experience the finest beach destinations," said David Carey, president and chief executive officer of Outrigger Enterprises Group. "As we align ourselves with a budding local talent like Alex, we are excited at the opportunity to watch him succeed, and to better market our destinations to potential visitors from China."
Outrigger also sponsors the Honolulu Marathon, Hapalua Half Marathon, XTERRA Trail Run Series and World Tour championships, along with Duke’s OceanFest and University of Hawaii athletics. But its support of Ching’s somewhat solitary chase of his golf dream far from home is unique, and absolutely appreciated.
"This is an extremely huge benefit for me," Ching says. "Trying to make it onto the PGA Tour is already such a hard battle in golf terms. Everything has to work out at the right time and your game has to be so consistent."
What Ching — and almost every other aspiring tour golfer — has discovered is that golf is only one agonizing part of the difficult equation.
"Keeping yourself afloat and making sure all your finances will allow you to play a whole year is a bigger deal," he says. "This deal with Outrigger could not have come at a better time. It is almost as if a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can completely focus on my golf. This is huge for a mini-tour player.
"Last year, I spent so much time worrying about making the cut or making enough money to be able to pay rent. Everyone goes through these problems on the mini-tours, but I am so thankful I can use every ounce of focus I have to making my golf game the best it can be."
Ching is based in San Diego, where he started working with Castle alum Dean Wilson, who won $9 million on the PGA Tour. While Ching is away, Wilson’s advice often comes in the form of texts. When he is home, Wilson’s contacts make for fascinating practice rounds.
"He has been such a good mentor and teacher," Ching says. "He really cares about the game and he wants the best for me."
So does Outrigger, which has 43 properties in Hawaii, Australia, Guam, Fiji, Thailand, Mauritius, Maldives, Vietnam and Hainan Island in China. Ching is now part of its China connection, and working hard on finishing in the Top Five and learning the language. He travels with former USD teammate Kenny McCready. Ching, who says he is "almost half Chinese," admits they play lots of cribbage and watch many movies.
"China is a different place," says Ching, whose sister Alina plays for Pepperdine. "Outside of the golf course and hotel it is completely different than America. Kenny and I have walked around a bit and tried some of the street food, which was surprisingly really good. Everything was fresh and tasty.
"The only difficult part so far is the language barrier when we order at restaurants. There is a lot of grunting and hand gestures. I’ve ordered the same thing two nights in a row and received two completely different dishes. They really don’t try to speak English at all, but once I get to the golf course and clubhouse, all my worries go away and I just think about golf."
