Chinese Taipei’s rookie Kevin Yu showed plenty of character by battling back from two late bogeys on Saturday to stay firmly in contention to win the Butterfield Bermuda Championship for his maiden PGA TOUR victory.
The 24-year-old Korn Ferry Tour graduate carded a third-round 4-under 67 at Port Royal Golf Course to finish the day in joint-third on 16-under 197, two strokes behind co-leaders Seamus Power of Ireland and Ben Griffin of the U.S., who signed for 65 and 66 respectively.
Related: Kevin Yu, Marty Dou eye another Asian high on PGA Tour
Although Yu was pegged back by two consecutive bogeys on Hole Nos. 15 and 16, he swiftly responded with back-to-back birdies on his final two holes.
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Yu, whose best finish to date this season was a T21 at the Sanderson Farms Championship, had earlier enjoyed a fruitful start when he hit four birdies in his opening 10 holes. He was proud of how he fought back to give himself a shot at his PGA TOUR breakthrough.
“Definitely have good momentum going to the final round tomorrow. Finished with two birdies, which helps a lot for the leaderboard,” said Yu, who currently ranks 73rd on the FedExCup standings.
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As strong winds battered Port Royal, Yu has every reason to be pleased with his overall display after hitting nine of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens despite the blustery conditions. “It’s good. I mean, it’s playing really tough today, really windy and winds just sometimes really not consistent,” said the former amateur World No. 1.
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” I played really solid, just tried to hit as many fairways as I can and try to hit as many greens as I can. I think that’s really a big key out here because the wind is such a big factor and just hitting all fairways and greens and give myself a lot of chances to make some birdies.
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“Even I missed a few greens and still be able to make up and down, so it was a good day today.”
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Yu’s compatriot CT Pan, who holds one PGA TOUR win, shot a blemish-free 69 for 11-under to shoot 11 spots up to a share of 13th place and seven shots off the pace. Pan birdied the second and seventh holes and steadily filled the rest of his scorecard with pars.
India’s Arjun Atwal and South Korea’s Byeong Hun An also improved in respective overnight positions after battling to matching 70. Atwal, the sole Indian winner on the PGA TOUR, moved up by six spots to T28 while An sits T38, three better than where he started the day.
Marty Zecheng Dou of China could not keep his momentum going as he struggled to a 75 and slipped to T38.
