Aspiring Lin hopes to ride The American Express to victory

Aspiring Chinese golfer Lin Yuxin hopes to eclipse the stars at The American Express in La Quinta, California, starting on Thursday as he seeks to maintain his learning curve since joining the game's professional ranks last year.

The 23-year-old left-hander emerged as one to watch among Asia's young golfers after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship twice in 2017 and 2019, which rewarded him with prized starts at the Masters Tournament and Open Championship.

Seeing compatriot Carl Yuan Yechun produce an eye-catching fourth place tied finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii last weekend has also inspired Lin ahead of this week's $8.4 million PGA Tour tournament, which features 21 players in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay (No 5), Xander Schauffele (No 6) and 2023 US Open winner Wyndham Clark (No 10).