By Chuah Choo Chiang
Kevin Yu recalls setting his alarm clock at around midnight for four days every April to watch the Masters Tournament live on TV. At times, his father, who was a golf teacher, would join him on the couch in their home when the leaders were marching down the back nine, and they would occasionally imagine themselves walking along the hallowed turf at Augusta National.
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This week, the 26-year-old Yu will finally realise his childhood dream when he makes his Masters debut starting on Thursday.
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A former world amateur No. 1, Yu won the Sanderson Farms Championship for his first PGA TOUR title last October to earn a coveted Masters invitation, and will join a select group from Chinese Taipei including Lu Liang-huan, the Chen brothers, T.C. and T.M., Lin Wen-tang and C.T. Pan, to have played in the prestigious tournament.
“It still feels unbelievable honestly, just because I’ve been dreaming of playing in the Masters since I started playing golf. I’ve watched Tiger Woods in so many Masters and the shots he has pulled off which were crazy. Trust me, I’ve watched the Masters all night since I was a young and knowing I’m actually going to play in the tournament is literally a dream come true. I’m really excited,” said Yu.
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Yu learned to play the sport at an early age, thanks to his father’s influence, and won the first of many junior golf tournaments when he was eight. He would try to beat his father, Tommy, whenever they played at the local course near their Taoyuan home. “My earliest golf memory is that my father took me to a golf course, he played and I was playing in the sand and tried putting. (Eventually) I wanted to beat my dad so bad out there, and that’s what got me into this game,” said Yu.
It would become a tradition in the Yu household that they would watch the Masters in the wee hours, and it proved to be a driving force in pursuit of his golf dream. With C.T. Pan’s encouragement, he headed stateside to play in AJGA tournaments, and after winning the Junior PLAYERS Championship in 2015, he signed up with Arizona State University and emerged as a top collegiate golfer and became the World Amateur No. 1.
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Yu cherishes his parents’ sacrifices in funding his initial golf journey that they are now regular faces at some of the biggest PGA TOUR events. Along with his younger sister and girlfriend, the family is together at Augusta National, with probably a healthy debate going on now as to who will get to caddie for Yu in the pre-Masters, Par-3 competition. Yu also knows the jinx that no Par-3 contest winners have ever won the Masters green jacket.
Two weeks ago, he played a practice round at Augusta National to get a feel of the aura of Augusta National and recalled the moment he got to the clubhouse. “It was pretty cool driving up Magnolia Lane and you see the clubhouse and everything. It was amazing. It’s hard to explain it but that’s the place I’ve always wanted to be at,” he said.
“I played in a college tournament near Augusta previously and we kind of saw the layout a little bit from the outside but to actually be there, it was on another level. The greens obviously are very tough to putt on, so I was trying to get some knowledge from the local caddies. You have to use your imagination to make the putts possible, just really be disciplined.”
This week will not be Yu’s first Major appearance as he had qualified for three successive U.S. Opens from 2018-2020 when he was amateur, and those experiences and subsequent advice from fellow competitors have provided fuel for a strong Masters debut. “I mean you obviously get all the excitement, and you want to play good golf, you want to practice there forever but people are telling me don’t overcook your head and don’t over practice. I feel my game has been pretty good recently. I have to stay sharp mentally and remind myself I usually play better when I’m not careless, but carefree,” said Yu, who has registered four top-20s this season including in his last two starts.
“I know I can compete with these guys. We play against each other all the time and I’m trying to beat the same guys. Being in the majors at a young age helped me quite a bit. I was practicing too hard and I got too excited seeing the top guys. By game day, I was exhausted so that’s a mistake I won’t make again. You have to be humble in knowing you need to keep getting better every day especially after those weeks. I was like ‘Oh my God I’m still not even close to being good’ and it tells me I need to keep grinding which makes me want to be better every day.”
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His good friend, C.T. Pan, who is also a one-time winner on TOUR, enjoyed a memorable Masters debut in 2020 by finishing tied seventh and Yu hopes to emulate, if not better that performance. “I’m proud be to a Taiwanese player playing the Masters. We never have a lot of guys playing in the past. Hopefully I can bring some good news to the people back home. I watched C.T. that year and it was amazing,” he said.
Asked what his goal was ahead of the magical week, Yu replied in laughter: “Try not to win the Par-3 contest? … No, I’m just kidding. You just want to enjoy the moment especially with my family being with me and to celebrate that moment is pretty cool. I’m going to try to play my best golf and hopefully have a good week.”
The writer is senior director, marketing & communications – APAC for the PGA TOUR and is based in Malaysia.
