Kevin Yu of Chinese Tiapei follows his shot from the second tee on Jan. 25, 2024, during the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South Course, in La Jolla, California, the United States. (AFP/Getty Images/Orlando Ramirez)
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ach year, C.T. Pan conducts a junior training camp in Taipei during the off-season where he shares his experience and golf insight about the PGA Tour with aspiring juniors. He also drives home a key point – do all you can to get into a United States college or university golf program.
Pan is a firm advocate of the American golf collegiate system as he enjoyed a stellar career at the University of Washington before realizing his dream of winning on the PGA Tour in 2019, the same year he became the first golfer from Chinese Taipei to compete in the Presidents Cup.
After graduating in 2015, he ground his way through the PGA Tour Canada and the Korn Ferry Tour before finding himself in dreamland competing against Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland, who are all among the current crop of PGA Tour stars who went through the same college route.
One of those who heeded Pan’s clarion call is compatriot Kevin Yu, who graduated from Arizona State University (ASU) in 2021 and is now flourishing on the PGA Tour in his second season. Yu must also thank the innovative PGA Tour University (PGA Tour U) program which provides playing opportunities for leading college golfers once they join the pro ranks.
The 25-year-old Yu is presently enjoying a flying start to his 2024 season as a tied third and joint sixth finish in The American Express and Farmers Insurance Open earned him a prized spot in last week’s US$20 million AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the second Signature event of the year, through the Aon Swing 5 incentive.
PGA Tour U, which was launched in 2020, offers privileges to leading college golfers to play on the Korn Ferry Tour, and the No. 1 ranked golfer will secure a PGA Tour card. Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, the top-ranked player last year, has made the most of PGA Tour U by winning the RSM Classic last fall.
The focus, though, is now on Yu to live up to his full promise. This week, he will compete in the popular WM Phoenix Open in TPC Scottsdale which is within close driving distance of his second home.
“C.T. is a good friend. He’s set a good example for me and all the young kids. He started college in Washington. He was winning tournaments and setting a good example for me to try to achieve. He’s given me a lot of advice and now that I’m here, I’ll try to do the same thing and maybe try to do better than him. The best advice before coming here is that there are just no short cuts for your dreams and we’ll get there if we work hard,” Yu said.
He will also forever be indebted to his five years spent at ASU where head coach Matt Thurmond, who also coached Pan in Washington, played a key role in Yu’s development as a player. “I’m so glad I made the choice to play for Arizona State, it was a wonderful experience. It [PGA Tour U] means a lot to all the college players as going straight from college to the Korn Ferry Tour is not easy,” he said.
Yu’s rookie season last year was a hit-and-miss as a torn meniscus in his left knee knocked him out of action for four months. He needed time to rebuild his strength and form, and is now looking to maintain his upward trend after posting back-to-back top 10s for the first time in his fledgling career. “I can see the game is trending right now, so hopefully I can keep it up,” he said.
From the days where he began playing golf as a seven-year-old with his father, who owned a driving range and is a teaching professional, Yu has known the road to the top is long and winding. He displayed an inborn fighting spirit as a child – “I wanted to beat my dad so bad out there, and that's what got me into this game” – and it could unlock the door to his first PGA Tour victory, a title that only Pan (2019 RBC Heritage) and T.C. Chen (1987 L.A. Open) have achieved for Chinese Taipei.
— The writer is senior director, marketing and communications – APAC, for the PGA Tour and is based in Malaysia
