Carl

Yuan

The PGA TOUR rookie has yet to hit his stride on the big stage. He entered with 10 straight finishes of T55 or worse. He had some time to reflect in recent weeks and get his mental game recharged, “I think I had a couple weeks off the last couple weeks. Yeah, it’s kind of thinking what I do well and what was good about my game. I don’t think there’s much changing technique-wise, it’s just mentally. I mean, there’s more passion, more love for the game. It’s tough coming out here trying to protect, trying to make cuts. Just have a good time and shoot a good score, yeah.” This will be the first time that Yuan has positioned himself inside of the top 10 after round one of a PGA TOUR event. His top finish of the season is a T21 at the Sony Open and his career-best finish is a T17 at the 2019-20 WGC-HSBC Champions.

The PGA TOUR rookie has yet to flash the upside that we saw so frequently last year on the Korn Ferry Tour. His best finish is a T21 at the Sony Open but he’s missed the cut in eight of his 12 starts on the season. Gamers should remove him from all weekly DFS rosters.

The 25-year-old is known for his exaggerated follow-throughs but he’s far from a novelty act. Yuan went 13-for-22 on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, with five of those doubling as podium finishes including a win at the Louisiana Open. Now, he’ll try to translate those big finishes to the big stage. He’s made just four previous starts on the PGA TOUR (2-for-4 with a notable T17 at the 2019-20 WGC-HSBC). When asked about his goals for the season, he had this to say, “My rookie year, but still want to finish Top 30 in the FedExCup, try to get one win this year.” The University of Washington product will likely be a popular fantasy selection this fall as he tries to make a name for himself.

The 25-year-old Dou carded a 5-under 67 during the final round at TPC Colorado to finish at 17-under 271 one stroke ahead of fellow countryman Carl Yuan. “It feels real now,” Dou said of his return to the PGA Tour thanks to his standings on the KFT regular-season points list (currently No. 2). “The first year I got there, I kind of felt I wasn’t ready. But it’s been three years now from that time, and I do feel like all parts of my game are set for the big Tour.” On the season, Dou has made 13 cuts in 17 starts with four top 10s including his win and a solo second at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic. The Dallas, Texas, resident won his first KFT title at the 2017 Digital Ally Open and graduated to the PGA Tour for the 2017-18 season, where he made just four cuts in 23 starts and finished no higher than T-51. He returned to the KFT in 2019 and won his first start of the season at the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic. For Yuan, it marks his third runner-up finish of the season and his 14th consecutive event at No. 1 on the KFT points list. Davis Thompson, a PGA Tour University Class of 2021 alum, finished T-6 at 14 under and became the 10th player to earn #TOURBound status this season after crossing the 875-point mark the Tour is using as a fail-safe threshold for players to finish inside The 25 and earn a PGA Tour card at regular season’s end. The KFT season continues July 14 with the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, Ill.

The 25-year-old Yuan, who played college golf at University of Washington, finished solo second at 19-under 261 at Holston Hills Country Club, where he shot a 4-under 66 in the final round to finish one stroke behind winner Anders Albertson. It marked Yuan’s fifth runner-up finish since August 2020 and his second of the 2022 season following a T-2 and the Panama Championship in February. His performance, which featured an 8-under 62 in the third round, also propelled Yuan to reach 1,255 points for the season and increased his lead over No. 2-ranked Seonghyeon Kim to 350 points. Yuan has topped the points list at the conclusion of the last seven KFT events, a run that began with his victory at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open on March 20. On the season, he’s made six cuts in 11 starts with two other top 10s (T-3 at Bahamas Great Exuma Classic, T-7 at Club Car Championship). He’s taking this week off, as the KFT season continues at the AdventHealth Championship, hosted by Blue Hills Country Club in Kansas City, Missouri.

Yuan, who turned 25 on Monday, started the day five strokes behind Uihlein, the outright 54-hole leader, and fired a 6-under 65 to match him at 14-under 270 at the end of regulation. Yuan made birdie at first playoff hole, the par-4 18th, hitting a wedge 12 feet and making the putt. “My coach and I worked on a couple things last two weeks, just having the confidence over a putt,” Yuan said. “No matter a 3‑footer or a 40‑footer, I have the same confidence of making it. And I have practiced (a) putt like this hundreds of times when I practice. Definitely dream about having a putt to win a tournament like this, playoff or (on) No. 18.” In five starts this season, Yuan has missed two cuts, but he’s finished on the podium in his other two paydays – T-3 at the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic in January and T-3 at the Panama Championship in February. Last season, he went 22-for-31 in the KFT’s wraparound season, which featured six top 10s with three T-2 results. He also represented China at the Tokyo Olympics, where he finished T-38 in Tokyo, but he missed the remainder of the KFT season due to obligations tied to the Games. He’s in the field this week for the Lake Charles Championship.

Turning in 4-under 31 at Brunswick Country Club, Yuan slipped up when he made bogey on the par-4 3rd, his 12th hole of the day. Bounce back he did, as the Olympian played his final six holes in 5-under to find his name alongside Kyle Wilshire at the top of the qualifier leaderboard. With runner-up efforts at the Simmons Bank Open, WinCo Foods Portland Open, and Pinnacle Bank Championship last season on the Korn Ferry Tour, the 24-year-old will attempt to collect a similar result this week at the RSM Classic.

The 24-year-old will be representing China this week, one of two countrymen to qualify (Ashun Wu). Both have been resting for the last five weeks. Before that, Yuan had rattled off finishes of T32 or better in seven of his last eight events played, all on the Korn Ferry Tour. That includes a runner-up finish at the Simmons Bank Open, a T5 at the Veritex Bank Championship, and a T7 at the Knoxville Open. The young University of Washington product has racked up four podium finishes in 54 career starts on the KFT, so he does have the ability to keep his foot on the gas for four straight days. His steady run of form does make him an appealing sleeper option in weekly fantasy formats but he is still a long shot to contend this week.

After rounds of 70 and 65, the 22-year-old from China had a one-shot lead at the midpoint. He made a solid enough start today with five pars and a birdie on the par-4 6th but finished 5-5 (bogey-par) on his front nine to turn in 36, six shots higher than yesterday. Yuan ticked 13 but then swallowed back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16. His ‘6' on the former meant he played the four par 5s today in 1-over. Things didn’t work out for the World No. 374 today but the pressure is somewhat off him now and, just two back, he remains a danger going into Sunday’s closer.

This was something of a Freaky Friday for the 22-year-old, ranked third among his nation’s golfers and a one-time student at the University of Washington. His front nine was a remarkable effort which saw him go birdie-par four times on the trot before adding an eagle-3 at the ninth. He was not done with the peculiar scoring either. He started the back nine bogey-birdie-birdie-birde and after par at the 14th he added bogey-bogey-birdie before a final par at the last (one of only six he made all day). The RACV Royal Pines Resort track had been laid bare and it left him clear at the top, although he will be well aware that the shadow of Adam Scott is creeping across his putting line – the Aussie hero is T3 with Wade Ormsby and just two swings back heading into the weekend. “I played smart, stuck to the plan,” he said. “I made two little mistakes but really pulled myself together and kept it going.”