PGA Tour starts are a coveted commodity for college players. San Jose State senior Sean Yu will take advantage of one at this week’s Genesis Invitational. Yu becomes the latest player to advance through the annual Collegiate Showcase and earn a spot in the tournament.
Yu, from Taiwan, teed it up at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, (which hosted the 2012 NCAA Championship) on Monday along with a limited field of college players competing for a spot in this week’s Tour event there. His 1-under 70 was the best score of the day, leaving him two shots ahead of Kentucky senior Allen Hamilton and Texas senior Spencer Soosman.
“To be honest, I didn’t think that I’d ever get to where I am today,” said Yu, who transferred to San Jose State after one season at Cal. “It’s definitely a dream come true to play in a Tour event and to play at the Riviera Country Club. To play in the Genesis Invitational is definitely something that I never even dreamed of.”
On Monday, Yu played alongside Joseph Bramlett, this year’s Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption recipient and a former Stanford player. Yu took it as a learning opportunity.
“I’m trying to go into every round learning as much as I can. That’s mainly what I’m focused on right now. Hopefully I can learn from the best players in the world,” Yu said.
Yu joins past winners Lukas Euler (2019), Scottie Scheffler (2018), Sahith Theegala (2017), Charlie Danielson (2016) and Will Zalatoris (2015), who also earned an exemption into the Genesis field.
In the fall college season, Yu won the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational and finished second at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational. He is No. 105 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.
Last spring, Yu made a name for himself as he made a run at the individual title at San Jose State’s own Western Intercollegiate played at Pasatiempo in Santa Cruz, California. He finished regulation tied with Stanford’s Isaiah Salinda, but ultimately lost on the fifth hole of a playoff.
