by Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Huskies coach Matt Thurmond wasn't the problem when PGA Tour pro and fellow Taiwanese golfer C.T. Pan suggested that Chun An Yu attend the University of Washington.
Location was.
"I can play the whole season in Arizona," Yu said. "In Washington, you can't play in winter so there is less time to work on your game."
So Yu, who has adopted the American first name, Kevin, committed to ASU. As happy coincidence would have it, Thurmond was named ASU's men's golf coach in July and the pairing he had hoped would occur in Seattle became official in January when Yu arrived in Tempe.
"I was so excited when I got the job because I knew he was committed here," Thurmond said. "C.T. Pan is probably the best player I have ever coached so having that connection of coaching the best two players from Taiwan in this generation, and maybe ever, was pretty cool."
Yu has already made an impact on the program. In just his third college tournament, the freshman took home the individual medalist honors at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson after shooting an 8-under 64 in the final round on Tuesday.
Yu shot a tournament-best 8-under on the par 4 holes and 10-under on the par-5 holes to become just the third Sun Devil freshman to win a tournament since Alejandro Canizares won the 2003 NCAA title. It also marked the third individual medalist this year for Thurmond's 16th-ranked program.
"I played much smarter this week, and if I missed the shot, I made sure I missed in the right spot," Yu said. "Concentration is probably the most important thing that made me play well this week. I told myself, 'Kev you need to concentrate on every shot, and you can do it.' One thing that I learned from last week is fairway accuracy. To hit the fairway means I have so many more chances to attack the green, and get more chances to make birdie."
"Pan and his wife really helped me this fall," Thurmond said. "Kevin didn't start here in September so he needed to do a lot of English training and exam taking and paperwork. Pan knew him so he was instrumental in telling him, 'do this and this' to make sure he was ready when he arrived."
Yu fired a final-round 2-under 68 at Riverside Golf Club (Illinois) on June 18, 2015 to capture the 98th Western Junior Championship in a sudden-death playoff. That victory propelled him from little known prospect to rising star, but Thurmond believes he has just scratched the surface of his potential.
"He hits the ball really far and he's a very consistent ball striker who is focused and kind of mature beyond his years," Thurmond said. "His wedge game is very solid and his putting is pretty solid, too.
"He needs to develop more shots in his repertoire. His stock high draw is awesome but he needs to learn to hit softer shots and a little better fade shots and bring his ball flight down a little bit. He's learning to manage the course better."
In 2014, Yu was debating whether to turn pro or go to college in the United States when Pan convinced him the latter was the wiser route.
"He asked me 'what is your dream?' and I told him 'I want to play on the PGA Tour,'" Yu said. "He said 'college is the way to make you improve your game. You get more knowledge and more experience here. On the PGA Tour, you might not get as much help.'"
Yu finished in a tie for 20th in his first collegiate tournament, the Amer Ari Invitational in Waikoloa, Hawaii from Feb. 2-4, and he also competed in The Prestige at PGA West from Feb. 21-22 in La Quinta, California.
He already had an impressive set of credentials before launching his ASU career, however. He won the Aaron Baddeley International Junior Championship in 2014, finished second at the 2014 Callaway Junior World Championships and was also a part of the Taiwan National Team in the 2014 Asian Games.
He moved to the United States in January 2015 and was training at the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy in Clermont, Florida until he came to ASU.
International athletes can often struggle in their first year in college as they try to adapt to new surroundings, a new culture and an American student-athlete experience that differs greatly from other nations. Because Yu travelled so much for competition, however, he insists the transition has been easy.
"It's great," said Yu, who plans to graduate from ASU before turning pro. "The weather is just awesome here and all the courses I have played are so good. My teammates are great, my coaches are great so really enjoying it."
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Huskies coach Matt Thurmond wasn't the problem when PGA Tour pro and fellow Taiwanese golfer C.T. Pan suggested that Chun An Yu attend the University of Washington.
Location was.
"I can play the whole season in Arizona," Yu said. "In Washington, you can't play in winter so there is less time to work on your game."
So Yu, who has adopted the American first name, Kevin, committed to ASU. As happy coincidence would have it, Thurmond was named ASU's men's golf coach in July and the pairing he had hoped would occur in Seattle became official in January when Yu arrived in Tempe.
"I was so excited when I got the job because I knew he was committed here," Thurmond said. "C.T. Pan is probably the best player I have ever coached so having that connection of coaching the best two players from Taiwan in this generation, and maybe ever, was pretty cool."
Yu has already made an impact on the program. In just his third college tournament, the freshman took home the individual medalist honors at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson after shooting an 8-under 64 in the final round on Tuesday.
Yu shot a tournament-best 8-under on the par 4 holes and 10-under on the par-5 holes to become just the third Sun Devil freshman to win a tournament since Alejandro Canizares won the 2003 NCAA title. It also marked the third individual medalist this year for Thurmond's 16th-ranked program.
"I played much smarter this week, and if I missed the shot, I made sure I missed in the right spot," Yu said. "Concentration is probably the most important thing that made me play well this week. I told myself, 'Kev you need to concentrate on every shot, and you can do it.' One thing that I learned from last week is fairway accuracy. To hit the fairway means I have so many more chances to attack the green, and get more chances to make birdie."
Thurmond said the prep work Yu accomplished before he arrived at ASU has helped him settle in quickly.Congrats to @kevingolfyu on title, team ties for second. On to Vegas!
— ASUmensgolf (@asumensgolf) March 1, 2017
RECAP: https://t.co/bvpRNOgE9e @ASUKarsten @PapagoGolf @ASU
"Pan and his wife really helped me this fall," Thurmond said. "Kevin didn't start here in September so he needed to do a lot of English training and exam taking and paperwork. Pan knew him so he was instrumental in telling him, 'do this and this' to make sure he was ready when he arrived."
Yu fired a final-round 2-under 68 at Riverside Golf Club (Illinois) on June 18, 2015 to capture the 98th Western Junior Championship in a sudden-death playoff. That victory propelled him from little known prospect to rising star, but Thurmond believes he has just scratched the surface of his potential.
"He hits the ball really far and he's a very consistent ball striker who is focused and kind of mature beyond his years," Thurmond said. "His wedge game is very solid and his putting is pretty solid, too.
"He needs to develop more shots in his repertoire. His stock high draw is awesome but he needs to learn to hit softer shots and a little better fade shots and bring his ball flight down a little bit. He's learning to manage the course better."
In 2014, Yu was debating whether to turn pro or go to college in the United States when Pan convinced him the latter was the wiser route.
"He asked me 'what is your dream?' and I told him 'I want to play on the PGA Tour,'" Yu said. "He said 'college is the way to make you improve your game. You get more knowledge and more experience here. On the PGA Tour, you might not get as much help.'"
Yu finished in a tie for 20th in his first collegiate tournament, the Amer Ari Invitational in Waikoloa, Hawaii from Feb. 2-4, and he also competed in The Prestige at PGA West from Feb. 21-22 in La Quinta, California.
He already had an impressive set of credentials before launching his ASU career, however. He won the Aaron Baddeley International Junior Championship in 2014, finished second at the 2014 Callaway Junior World Championships and was also a part of the Taiwan National Team in the 2014 Asian Games.
He moved to the United States in January 2015 and was training at the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy in Clermont, Florida until he came to ASU.
International athletes can often struggle in their first year in college as they try to adapt to new surroundings, a new culture and an American student-athlete experience that differs greatly from other nations. Because Yu travelled so much for competition, however, he insists the transition has been easy.
"It's great," said Yu, who plans to graduate from ASU before turning pro. "The weather is just awesome here and all the courses I have played are so good. My teammates are great, my coaches are great so really enjoying it."