About a week ago, Sun Devil Chun An Yu -- who will be a senior in 2019-20 -- was putting the finishing touches on a third-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships held in Arkansas.
This weekend, he will play in the Palmer Cup, also to be held in Arkansas.
What did he do with the time in between?
He went to California and qualified for the U.S. Open to be held at Pebble Beach next weekend.
He didn't just qualify, he took the top spot in the 99-player field held at Newport Beach Country Club and then at Big Canyon Country Club. He started the day with a 7-under 64 at Newport Beach that included six birdies and an eagle. The next 18 at Big Canyon he posted a 5-under 67 that included another six birdies and another eagle.
The field was impressive. Those not making the cut in southern California included USC senior standout Justin Suh (ranked second in the World Amateur Golf Ranking) and Stanford standout Isiaah Salinda (No. 14 in WAGR) while Stewart Hagestad (No. 16) made the cut at 9-under as he was tied for fourth.
Yu, who posted eight top-five finishes in 11 events in 2018-19 including a win at the Thunderbird Collegiate, earned PING First-Team All-America announced by the GCAA following the stroke-play portion of the NCAA Division I Championships. The 10 first-team selections includes five seniors (Steven Fisk, Georgia Southern; Will Gordon, Vanderbilt; Collin Morikawa, California; Bryson Nimmer, Clemson and Justin Suh, USC).
He closed a great junior season with a third-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships held at Blessings Golf Club (7,550 yards/par-72) in Fayetteville May 24-27. He finished at 3-under 285 (69-74-70-72), as only five players shot below par for the tournament and the third-place finish matches the second-best Sun Devil finish at the NCAA Championships in the past 16 years. His eight top-five finishes in 11 events on the year included the Maui Jim Invitational (second), Arizona Intercollegiate (tied for fifth), Querencia Cabo Collegiate (third), Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic (tied for fourth), National Invitational (tied for fifth), ASU Thunderbird Collegiate (first) and the NCAA Stanford Regional (tied for second).
SUN DEVIL BEST SCORING AVERAGE (1987-2019)
Jon Rahm, 13, 2014-15, 69.15
Chun An Yu, 11, 2018-19, 69.20
Jon Rahm, 13, 2015-16, 69.41
Max Rottluff, 14, 2014-15, 69.81
Paul Casey, 10, 1999-2000, 69.87
Phil Mickelson, 12, 1991-1992, 69.95
Niklas Lemke, 12, 2006-2007, 70.03
Phil Mickelson, 11, 1990-1991, 70.08
Jared du Toit, 14, 2016-17, 70.38
Chun An Yu, 12, 2017-18, 70.58
Maui Jim Invitational (Sept. 21-23, 2018) 65-64-68=197/-13/2nd (78)
Tavistock Invitational (Oct. 21-23, 2018) 71-71-70=212/-4/T-10 (80)
Arizona Intercollegiate (Jan. 28-29, 2019) 69-64-71=204/-9/T-5 (80)
John Burns Intercollegiate (Feb. 21-23, 2019) 70-68-74=212/-4/T-16 (114)
Querencia Cabo Collegiate (Mar. 3-5, 2019) 66-71-65=202/-11/3rd (71)
Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic (Mar. 11-12, 2019) 70-70-73=213/-3/T-4 (91
National Invitational Tournament (Mar. 18-19, 2019) 69-64-71=205/-11/T-5 (84)
ASU Thunderbird Collegiate (Apr. 12-13, 2019) 66-67-68=201/-12/1st (80)
Pac-12 Championships (Apr. 22-24, 2019) 70-73-73-72=288/+4/T-16 (72)
NCAA Stanford Regional (May 13-15, 2019) 71-65-67=203/-7/T-2 (75)
NCAA Championship (May 24-29, 2019) 69-74-70-72=285/-3/3rd (156)
11 TOURNAMENTS
35 ROUNDS/2,422 STROKES
69.20 STROKE AVERAGE
8 TOP FIVE FINISHES
10 TOP-10 FINISHES
This weekend, he will play in the Palmer Cup, also to be held in Arkansas.
What did he do with the time in between?
He went to California and qualified for the U.S. Open to be held at Pebble Beach next weekend.
Five players are all headed to the 119th U.S. Open Championship! #RoadToPebble @USGA
— SCGA (@thescga) June 4, 2019
1 - Chun An Yu (a), -12
T2 - Hayden Shieh, -11
T2 - Richard Lee, -11
T4 - Stewart Hagestad (a), -9
T4 - Andreas Halvorsen -9
RESULTS: https://t.co/20Y5EsDvk7 pic.twitter.com/iqM7izh6a2
He didn't just qualify, he took the top spot in the 99-player field held at Newport Beach Country Club and then at Big Canyon Country Club. He started the day with a 7-under 64 at Newport Beach that included six birdies and an eagle. The next 18 at Big Canyon he posted a 5-under 67 that included another six birdies and another eagle.
The field was impressive. Those not making the cut in southern California included USC senior standout Justin Suh (ranked second in the World Amateur Golf Ranking) and Stanford standout Isiaah Salinda (No. 14 in WAGR) while Stewart Hagestad (No. 16) made the cut at 9-under as he was tied for fourth.
2 for 2 with this guy! Can't wait to play US open again this year at pebble beach!
— Chun An Yu (@kevingolfyu) June 4, 2019
Shout-out to @a_truong14 for caddying !
#usopen#forksup#godevils pic.twitter.com/ryxaTkHI6h
Yu, who posted eight top-five finishes in 11 events in 2018-19 including a win at the Thunderbird Collegiate, earned PING First-Team All-America announced by the GCAA following the stroke-play portion of the NCAA Division I Championships. The 10 first-team selections includes five seniors (Steven Fisk, Georgia Southern; Will Gordon, Vanderbilt; Collin Morikawa, California; Bryson Nimmer, Clemson and Justin Suh, USC).
He closed a great junior season with a third-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships held at Blessings Golf Club (7,550 yards/par-72) in Fayetteville May 24-27. He finished at 3-under 285 (69-74-70-72), as only five players shot below par for the tournament and the third-place finish matches the second-best Sun Devil finish at the NCAA Championships in the past 16 years. His eight top-five finishes in 11 events on the year included the Maui Jim Invitational (second), Arizona Intercollegiate (tied for fifth), Querencia Cabo Collegiate (third), Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic (tied for fourth), National Invitational (tied for fifth), ASU Thunderbird Collegiate (first) and the NCAA Stanford Regional (tied for second).
SUN DEVIL BEST SCORING AVERAGE (1987-2019)
Jon Rahm, 13, 2014-15, 69.15
Chun An Yu, 11, 2018-19, 69.20
Jon Rahm, 13, 2015-16, 69.41
Max Rottluff, 14, 2014-15, 69.81
Paul Casey, 10, 1999-2000, 69.87
Phil Mickelson, 12, 1991-1992, 69.95
Niklas Lemke, 12, 2006-2007, 70.03
Phil Mickelson, 11, 1990-1991, 70.08
Jared du Toit, 14, 2016-17, 70.38
Chun An Yu, 12, 2017-18, 70.58
CHUN AN YU 2018-19 ROUND-BY-ROUNDTo Pebble Beach!!! Congrats to @kevingolfyu for winning the California US Open Sectional and making the US Open for the second year in a row!! This guy is really good! pic.twitter.com/CN2KwSFGBX
— Matt Thurmond (@MattThurmond) June 4, 2019
Maui Jim Invitational (Sept. 21-23, 2018) 65-64-68=197/-13/2nd (78)
Tavistock Invitational (Oct. 21-23, 2018) 71-71-70=212/-4/T-10 (80)
Arizona Intercollegiate (Jan. 28-29, 2019) 69-64-71=204/-9/T-5 (80)
John Burns Intercollegiate (Feb. 21-23, 2019) 70-68-74=212/-4/T-16 (114)
Querencia Cabo Collegiate (Mar. 3-5, 2019) 66-71-65=202/-11/3rd (71)
Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic (Mar. 11-12, 2019) 70-70-73=213/-3/T-4 (91
National Invitational Tournament (Mar. 18-19, 2019) 69-64-71=205/-11/T-5 (84)
ASU Thunderbird Collegiate (Apr. 12-13, 2019) 66-67-68=201/-12/1st (80)
Pac-12 Championships (Apr. 22-24, 2019) 70-73-73-72=288/+4/T-16 (72)
NCAA Stanford Regional (May 13-15, 2019) 71-65-67=203/-7/T-2 (75)
NCAA Championship (May 24-29, 2019) 69-74-70-72=285/-3/3rd (156)
11 TOURNAMENTS
35 ROUNDS/2,422 STROKES
69.20 STROKE AVERAGE
8 TOP FIVE FINISHES
10 TOP-10 FINISHES
U.S. Open qualifying: Newport Beach sectional full of great stories https://t.co/ymTPh64aaQ via @golfweek
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) June 4, 2019