Kevin Yu became the third golfer from Taiwan to win a US Open championship when he made back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole. He also won the Sanderson Farms Championship, as predicted by his father.
The Taoyuan native, who represented Taiwan in golf at the Paris Olympics, defeated Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi.
Yu made it into the playoffs by sinking a 15-foot putt, and on the first extra hole, he made sure to join T.C. Chen and C.T. Pan, the Taiwanese winners of the 2019 RBC Heritage Tour.
Following his victory, he said: “I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I was five…This is the dream for all golfers, to win on the PGA Tour.”
He added: “I did it today. I’m thankful for my parents. Without them, I couldn’t have done that.”
Tommy, Yu’s father, built a driving range after his son began golfing at the age of five. Upon arriving at the course early in the week, Tommy took the wrong path in search of a parking spot.
Yu shared: “He saw a parking spot in the very beginning and I told him, ‘That’s for past champions, we can’t park here’. He was like, ‘Oh, OK, OK. We can park here after this year’.”
He added: “I don’t know – it just happened. I just had a good start for the week and then had good momentum, and my dad and my mom, they always trust me very much and that’s very special.”
Carl Yuan of China may have believed that he discovered the key to success after winning a tied 5th place at the Valspar Championship, his second top 10 achievement of the year. He successfully chipped in twice on his route to a final round 3-under 68, finishing four shots behind the winner, Peter Malnati, who then triumphed over Cameron Young with a two-stroke victory after a 67.
Yuan admitted: “It was challenging and definitely played tough. I really hung in there, just trying to commit shot by shot. Don’t really let one bad shot or one poor result took my mind off it, just keep trusting it, committing it. Fortunately enough, I had a couple of chip-ins and that was very exciting.”
He is now expected to climb the FedExCup list standings to 74th place.
Yuan – no sports complexities
Yuan is very grateful to his wife Cathy for always reminding him to enjoy himself and not get bogged down by the complexities of the sport. He took this advice to heart because he knows he frequently displays follow-through actions after finishing his games.
“Like my wife said, you just got to have fun. If she sees me out there not looking like I’m having fun, she’s going to be pissed..I did a good job just keep myself entertained, just really having fun. Not making golf swings, just hitting golf shots. It’s a really challenging course already and people are going to make mistakes. I just make sure I don’t spiral down on mistakes,” Yuan declared.
Yuan aims for his first-ever PGA Tour championship but admitted that he was not confident despite his solid start of the season. However, he believes that swinging freely might be the solution to his problems.
At Pinehurst No. 2, Bryson DeChambeau emerged victorious from the US Open for the second time, extending Rory Mcllroy’s agonizing ten-year wait for a fifth major championship by at least one more round.
One of just twelve players from the rebel LIV Golf series in the 156-player field, the 30-year-old American frittered away a three-shot overnight lead before mounting a dramatic comeback from two strokes behind. He held his composure in a match of intense psychological competition that left McIlroy regretting a string of unforced errors in the closing minutes.
Over the final three holes, McIlroy missed two easy putts from inside three feet, including one from 26 inches for par on the 72nd, which left DeChambeau with just a four-stroke requirement to win the championship.
With his win, DeChambeau declared: “I still can’t believe that up-and-down… Probably the best shot of my life.”
In the history of the US Open, he became the fifth player, aged 30 or under, to win the tournament multiple times. He now stands with Jack Nicklaus, Ernie Els, Tiger Woods, and Brooks Koepka as members of these elite athletes.
Highlights of the game
Despite early misfortune and several poor breaks, DeChambeau recovered to save pars from drives that found a fairway divot on the first and a bunker on the second. After a bogey on the fourth, his advantage dropped to one, but McIlroy immediately regained the lead when, in the aftermath of what seemed to be a highlight-reel approach wedge shot that trailed all the way down the hill and into the native sandy region, he was fortunate to save bogey.
The clouds that provided cover from the 90F (32C) temperatures broke by the time McIlroy made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 9th hole, moving him into sole possession of second place at five under and one shot behind DeChambeau’s lead. The leaders continued playing despite the changes in weather conditions.
On the 10th hole, McIlroy eventually tied the score when DeChambeau curled in his biggest putt of the week from 27 feet for a second consecutive birdie, sending the crowd around the green into a commotion. With a well-placed pitch near following a mishit fairway shot and a birdie putt, DeChambeau surged ahead on the tenth hole, On the 11th green, McIlroy lined up a birdie putt and heard the applause from behind him. However, he missed by inches and was still one stroke behind the leader.
Shortly after DeChambeau made a stunning par save on the 11th hole, McIlroy made another difficult putt to reach seven-under and reclaim the lead on the 12th. Mcllroy struck a shot off the 13th tee that sailed into the pine straw to the right of the fairway. On number 13, DeChambeau came dangerously close to missing an eagle putt while taking his time clearing a drive into the natural area. He then cleared for birdie to go within striking distance of the lead. The leaders were tied at seven under par when McIlroy made a stroke on the 16th hole.
On the 72nd hole, McIlroy chipped and ran to within three feet after hitting a driver into the bushes. After that, he had to make a putt from 26 inches to maintain his lead, but he missed two more during the final three holes, thus giving the title to DeChambeau, who had to make a par from a debatable lie to win it all. DeChambeau hit it four yards from the pin.
The entire match was thrilling. At the end, DeChambeau remarked: “Rory is one of the best to ever play. Being able to fight against a great like that is pretty special… For him to miss that putt, I’d never wish it on anybody. It just happened to play out that way.”
The Presidents Cup concluded as it has for the previous 19 years—with a victory for Team USA.
With a spectacular finish at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada, Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley secured the winning point as the star-studded American team defeated the International Team 18.5–11.5. This marked the team’s tenth consecutive triumph in the biennial competition.
Highlights of the competition
Xander Schauffele, the two-time major champion this year, defeated Jason Day of Australia in a 4&3 (four ahead with three holes to play) match that set the tone for the 12 final singles matches. After leading 11–7 into the fourth and final day, captain Jim Furyk’s team needed just 3.5 more points to win.
Despite the fact that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler lost to Hideki Matsuyama, Bradley secured yet another US triumph when opponent Kim Si-woo was unable to convert from 10 feet on the final hole.
For Bradley, who hadn’t played for the US since losing the game that finalized a crushing Ryder Cup loss to Europe in 2014, it was a full-circle moment that had been waiting for ten years. He admitted: “The last time I played in one of these, I was the clinching point for the Europeans in the Ryder Cup. Fast-forward 10 years later and I got to do that today. Really something I’ll remember the rest of my life… I learned a lot from Jim and Tabitha (Furyk) this week. It was the best job I’ve ever seen done as captain and the captain’s wife.”
International Team gave a fight
Seeking their first victory since 1998, the International Team did not give up easily.
After an opening 5-0 US blitz, captain Mike Weir’s International Team rallied with a sweep of their own on Friday to tie the game at 5-5, with motivated young South Korean player Tom Kim setting the tone for the comeback.
The 22-year-old, who has previously won three times on the PGA Tour, caused a stir when playing Scheffler in a fourball match the day before. He was all ablaze with excitement after making a long birdie putt, but he moved on to the next tee before Scheffler’s subsequent missed putt.
Despite disclosing that Kim had “poked the bear”, Masters winner Scheffler dismissed the episode as a normal part of the game, saying, “We’re friends after, we’re not friends during.”
However, team USA assistant captain Kevin Kisner called Kim’s choice to leave the game prior to Scheffler’s putt a “bush league” move. He admitted: “They took gamesmanship too far and over the line on sportsmanship and lost some integrity.”
More so, after accusing the American team of cursing at him on Saturday, Kim found himself at the heart of the drama once more.
Kim joined up with fellow countryman Kim Si-woo once more for an exciting foursomes match against Cantlay and Schauffele after defeating Bradley and Wyndham Clark.
Tom Kim stated: “As it got towards the end, it got a little feisty out there. I could hear some players cursing at us… I don’t think there was good sportsmanship there. But it’s all part of the fun. I understand it. The US team definitely motivated us to go out there.”
Schauffele denied the allegations, stating that he and Cantlay showed utmost respect to their opponents.
The world No. 2 stated: “We’re trying to quiet the crowds down when they were hitting… I have no clue if anyone was doing any of that. I don’t believe any of our guys would do something like that. So I’m not sure what he was hearing.”
Kim added: “This event is all about doing things you would never do and creating energy and doing all these things. If I do certain things on the greens when I make putts, I expect them to do the same thing. It’s all part of the game. It was just about that.”
After winning at the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan, Yuto Katsuragawa set his sights on an invitation to play on the PGA Tour.
Currently the world No. 434, the athlete began in the competition mainly unknown outside of his native country, and it appeared that way until coming into the final round three strokes behind the lead among players on the DP World Tour with winning records. With his determination, he shared the lead at the halfway point after making up two strokes on the front nine as the leaders were having difficulty, and five birdies in seven holes beginning on the tenth hole powered him to victory.
After a final-round 63 to go to 17 under, three shots ahead of the Swedish player Sebastian Soderberg, he announced following his triumph that he will now accept his membership in the DP World Tour.
Katsuragawa and the next challenge
Katsuragawa declared: “I have been practicing a lot to stand on the big stage… I can now go on the DP World Tour which is really great and I’m really happy with it. I’m aiming to become a member of the PGA Tour in the future.”
“I was very nervous on the back nine, my hands were shaking but I trusted myself and I managed to bring my golf… This course is beside Mount Fuji and very beautiful but it is a challenging course and I’m happy to win at a challenging course like this,” he added.
With the top 10 players at the end of the season not already exempt earning a PGA Tour card, Katsuragawa will automatically move into the top 25 on the Race to Dubai.
Amateur golfer Hiroshi Tai becomes the first Singaporean to tee off at the US Masters in April 2025, and he hopes to “not be in awe” of professional players such as Scottie Scheffler and Hideki Matsuyama.
Tai said: “Being from Asia, Hideki Matsuyama is a big role model for how he carries himself on and off the golf course… Scottie Scheffler has been playing very well, and he is mentally very strong… I hope not to be in awe of them when we meet.”
After winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in May, young Tai was invited to play in the Masters, which is the most competitive of the four majors. This historic triumph elevated the young athlete to the same level as former NCAA champions Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, and Tiger Woods.
Moreover, with an admission to this year’s US Open at Pinehurst, he also got his first taste of a major. However, despite strong rounds of 75 and 74, he missed the cut by four shots.
“I just want to play to the best of my abilities and finish as high as possible… But I’m sure I’ll be looking around and enjoying the experience,” he admitted.
The Singapore Golf Association saw Tai’s abilities and included him in the national team. He competed for Singapore in significant amateur competitions, such as the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and the World Amateur Team Championship, where he placed 14th in 2019.
