Chun-An “Kevin” Yu went about fast-forwarding the script several years the way he finished Nos. 17 and 18 at The Junior Players Championship.
“I played 17 and 18 just like I was playing on the PGA TOUR,” Yu said. “The 18th hole is a very good memory. I made a birdie on the last hole to win, so it was a great moment.”
Yu, 17, of Taiwan, stuffed his approach on the 18th hole at the Stadium Course and made his five footer to finish at 5-under 211 for a one-shot win.
In cooperation with the PGA TOUR, the American Junior Golf Association brought 78 players, ages 13-18, from 20 states and 15 countries to THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass for a special junior golf experience. The 7,190-yard course setup and hole locations for Sunday’s final round matched that of the final round of the 2015 PLAYERS Championship.
Yu has had a knack for peaking during the most pressure packed moments. Amid the course and the event’s toughest conditions Sunday at The Junior Players Championship, Yu was at his best firing a 5-under 67.
Earlier this summer, Yu fired a 2-under 68 to force a playoff at the Western Junior and later won on the first playoff hole and also fired a 5-under 67 in the final round of the Terra Cotta Invitational for a T5 finish.
Yu, rising senior joins a growing list of major junior winners from the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy including Morgan Hoffmann (2008 AJGA HP Boys Championship), Patrick Winther (2008 AJGA Polo Classic & 2009 AJGA HP Boys Championship), Nicholas Reach (2011 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley) and Fumie “Alice” Jo (2014 U.S. Women’s Public Links Champion).
