JUNIOR PLAYERS champion Kevin Yu returns to TPC Sawgrass for PLAYERS debut

Kevin Yu has been dreaming of this week for the past eight years.

Since winning the JUNIOR PLAYERS Championship in 2015 at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, the 25-year-old has been waiting for the opportunity to debut at THE PLAYERS Championship.

“I’ve been thinking about this moment since I was young," said Yu. After winning the JUNIOR PLAYERS, this means a lot. My mum and sister are here this week which makes it special too. If I can post good scores, it’ll be even better.

He recalls making a closing birdie to win the JUNIOR PLAYERS, which is part of the AJGA circuit, by a single stroke.

“The final day, the weather wasn’t great and we got delayed," he said. "I was playing decent and didn’t think I was good enough. After the delay, I looked at the leaderboard and I was just a few back. I made a couple of birdies coming in, and then made birdie on 18.

“Playing 17 (the par-3 island green) is a tough shot. I made par, and then hit a pitching wedge to like maybe 15, 20 feet and holed the birdie putt and made a huge fist pump. I’ve watched THE PLAYERS a lot since I was young … watching Tiger (Woods) and all the best players in the world playing here. I said ‘one day you want to be out here and compete with those guys’, and now I’ve made it here. The next step is to keep playing better and hopefully win this soon.”

Good scores have been something Yu has been able to shoot consistently this season. He has posted three top-10s to underscore his growing reputation following an amateur career where he was a standout at Arizona State University before earning his PGA TOUR card through the Korn Ferry Tour.

“I just feel that this year, everything has been more consistent. My driving and ball-striking have become better, and I’ve put in the work with my putting coach which has helped. Just keep grinding and keep doing what I’m doing and hopefully shoot better scores,” said Yu, who currently ranks 49th in the FedExCup standings.

While he was sidelined for four months early last year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, Yu, a former world amateur No. 1, believes the time off provided a fresh perspective which has since translated to his consistency on the fairways.

“The injury was frustrating as I was playing decent and got hurt. I was so down but after talking to friends and my psychologist, it was a chance for me to get better mentally. Sometimes when you’re on the road for so much, you push yourself but with the break, I could clear my mind which sometimes gets a bit too complicated. It was a reboot and I came back out fresh. I felt like a different person coming back from my injury,” he explains.

This week’s 50th anniversary of THE PLAYERS is special for Chinese Taipei golf as it is the first time two players are in the field at TPC Sawgrass, often regarded as the purest test in golf. C.T. Pan, who is a one-time PGA TOUR winner, is also teeing up this week and was pivotal in encouraging Yu to attend university in the U.S. as a career pathway.

“It means a lot back home and to ourselves," Yu said. Hopefully, we can play well and get paired together on Sunday that’ll make it more interesting."