In-form Kevin Yu knocking on door again at ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

Three weeks after banging down the door to his first PGA TOUR victory, Chinese Taipei’s Kevin Yu is hovering around the leaderboard once again with a tidy 5-under 65 in the first round of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.

The 26-year-old Yu, who finished T59 here last season, carded six birdies against a lone bogey for a T5 position, riding his newfound confidence from a win at the Sanderson Farms Championship earlier this month.

His close friend C.T. Pan matched his 65 on a day when Taylor Moore fired a fine 63 to lead by one stroke over Max Greyserman, Nico Echavarria and Eric Cole, who finished runner-up here in 2023.

Korea’s K.H. Lee, who finished T5 at the Shriners Children’s Open in Vegas last week, maintained his resurgence with a 66, and was matched by a Japanese quartet of Ryosuke Kinoshita, Taisei Shimizu, Shugo Imahira and Takumi Kanaya.

Yu, a former amateur star at Arizona State University, hit 10 of 13 fairways which he said was the key to his fast start.

“Everything was pretty good," Yu said. "I feel like after last year, really put in the work for this course because I didn't play good. I was trying to figure out what's the reason, and this year I feel like my tee shot was a lot better.

“I feel I was too aggressive last year and this year, I was trying to be more conservative. If I can hit some fairways, hit some greens, I know my putting is good, too. It worked out pretty good. Definitely my game is up there. Obviously last week I didn't have my best, but I still feel pretty good coming in this week. Just trying to keep it up the next three days.”

Pan, whose lone PGA TOUR victory was at the 2019 RBC Heritage, closed with four consecutive birdies as he capitalized on some wonderful iron play. He ranked first in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green, gaining 3.598 strokes over the field.

“It was an amazing finish, one of my best in my career I believe," said Pan. "Finish with four birdies and actually had an eagle putt on the last hole, missed it right a little bit, but still it was a great second shot. It was about 260 yards out, hit 7-wood to about 13 feet.

“Actually kind of struggled the last couple months, finding a hard time to score out there until last Sunday. Made nine birdies to climb up the leaderboard, so that was a big day for me, turning point for me. Hopefully I'll stay with it and keep the momentum going. My putter just clicked.”

Pan finished T23 last weekend after a final-round 64 in Vegas. Like Pan, Lee, who is ranked 91st in the FedExCup standings, also found some good form last weekend with a T5 for his fourth top-10 of the season. Lee hit 16 greens in regulation to keep the momentum going.

“Today my iron game was really good," Lee said. "I know this course is very hard to hit fairway and greens, which makes it easier. My iron game is is getting better, so that helps me to play well."