Taiwanese rising star Kevin Yu is tomorrow to make his Masters Tournament debut at Augustus National Golf Club in Georgia.
The 26-year-old in October last year beat out Californian Beau Hossler at the Sanderson Farms Championship to win his first PGA Tour title and earn his spot among the 95 players competing at this year’s Masters.
He is just the third Taiwanese to qualify for the prestigious tournament, following T.C. Chen, who finished tied for 12th in 1987 after earning a spot by winning the Los Angeles Open that same year, and C.T. Pan, who tied for seventh at the 2020 Masters.
Photo: AFP
Pan, who won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, earned his Masters berth after winning the RBC Heritage in 2019.
Yu, who turned professional in 2021 and last year represented Taiwan at the Paris Games, was a two-time All-American at Arizona State University and in November 2020 became the top-ranked amateur in the world, according to the Masters Web site.
The Web site of Golf Digest on Monday named Yu as one of the five players to pick for people making a Masters betting pool.
Yu, who has finished in the top 20 of four tournaments this year, has long drives that could benefit him on Augustus’ par-five holes, the magazine said.
PGA tour statistics rank Yu ninth for total driving with a score of 95 and ninth in eagles per hole with a score of 78.8.
Betsperts Golf’s “Rabbit Hole” data platform ranked Yu in the top 10 in ball-striking over the past six months.
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
RSS