Former Arizona State golfer Kevin Yu tops Wichita Open leaderboard as rookie pro
Kevin Yu is not the type of golfer who needs time to adjust to his surroundings.
The former Arizona State star claimed medalist honors at the third college tournament he played in as a freshman with the Sun Devils. Before that, he won the second tournament he played in as a junior golfer with the AJGA. And it won’t be a surprise if he continues that trend on Sunday as he finishes out his second tournament as a professional at the Wichita Open.
Yu surged to the top of the leaderboard on Saturday at Crestview Country Club by carding an impressive round of 9-under 61, which featured nine birdies and no bogeys. Combined with earlier rounds of 64 and 66, he now sits 2 shots clear of the field at 19-under par. No matter how low his competitors have gone this week — and there have been lots of red numbers in the scorching Kansas heat — none of them have been able to keep pace with Yu.
He played so well in the third round that fans were crossing their fingers for a 59 when he got to 9-under with three holes still to play. Alas, he had to settle for three straight pars on the way home.
“I just wanted to focus on the moment, so I didn’t think about 59, but I was close. For real,” Yu said afterward. “I didn’t even think about it. I just wanted to hit a good shot every shot I hit and stay in the present.”
That strategy paid off for Yu, as he opened the day with four consecutive birdies and made the turn at 30 when he chipped in for birdie at the ninth hole.
“One of most important shots was a chip shot on nine,” Yu said. “It was really tough — down hill, down grain. It’s hard to stop the ball there, but I hit a perfect chip from there somehow and rolled it in for birdie. That was a game changer. I made a couple more birdies after that; that chip was definitely the shot of the day.”
As good as Yu is currently playing as a rookie pro, he will likely be tested on Sunday. Eight players are within 5 shots of the lead, including Harry Hall (-17), Patrick Flavin (-16), Brett Drewitt (-14), Brent Grant (-14), Curtis Thompson (-14), Erik Barnes (-14) and former champion Ollie Schniderjans (-14).
Fans could be in for an exciting final round of golf. Or Yu could run away and hide from the rest of the field.
A lot may depend on how he handles the pressure that comes with sleeping on a 54-hole lead. For now, the native of Taoyuan, Taiwan says he won’t treat things much differently. He might play slightly less aggressive than he did in his first three rounds, but he’s still going to attack short holes and try to post red numbers. He will try not to think ahead.
It will be interesting to see how he performs.
Pressure hasn’t seemed to faze him in the past. But it’s also worth remembering he was playing college golf at this time last month.
“This is a lot different from college golf,” Yu said. “Everything is on my own now. I handle everything myself now. We’re talking course management and travel. It’s a lot different, but I like it so far.”