OPEN FOR ANYTHING
Scarsdale’s Wu set to play British after leading Stanford to national title
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — It’s good to be Brandon Wu.
Where to start with his magical life?
Maybe with him going 3-0 in match play and becoming a catalyst in leading Stanford to the NCAA golf title.
Or qualifying to play in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, making the cut, being paired with Dustin Johnson in the final round and finishing tied for 35th.
Or being presented his diploma on the 18th green after f inishing the f inal round of the U.S. Open, which was taking place on the same day as Stanford’s graduation.
Or traveling to Scotland and qualifying for the British Open by f inishing as the medalist and securing the first of the three spots available in the 72-player field to get to play this week at Royal Portrush.
Wu — who lives with his family in Scarsdale, plays out of Scarsdale Golf Club and is the No. 5 ranked amateur in the world — owns the distinction of being the first amateur since 1967 to qualify for both the U.S. Open and British Open in same year.
The only potential flaw in his perfect life?
“I like the Jets, that’s my favorite team,’’ Wu said. Well, nobody’s perfect. “I’m excited about [quarterback Sam] Darnold,’’ Wu said. “He’s young and he can be good. I don’t know how Le’Veon [Bell] is going to fit in, but I love his game. He’s so fun to watch. I think he’ll be good.’’
Interestingly, Wu has a similar low-key, levelheaded personality and approach to his sport that Darnold displayed in his first season with the Jets. Like Darnold, Wu seems unflappable.
“That def initely is an attribute of mine,’’ Wu said. “It’s partially my personality. I’m pretty chill. I’ve also learned to keep myself level on the course as well. That’s something I’ve worked on over the last few years at Stanford. In general, I’m pretty laid back, so that helps.’’
Wu — who was born in California, moved to Beijing when he was 8 and to Scarsdale five years later — described these past few months as “whirlwind since halfway through the spring in college when we went on this run and we ended up winning our last five tournaments and the NCAA championship.
“It’s been one thing after the next,’’ he said. “It’s been super fun, and I’m just trying to enjoy every moment of it.’’
The one thing Wu has not done during this stretch is make a single dollar. His former college contemporaries, meanwhile, have been cashing in. Matthew Wolff, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa all turned pro after the U.S. Open and already have made an impact on the PGA Tour.
Wolff won the 3-M Classic two weeks ago in Minnesota in merely his third professional start, earning $1.152 million for his victory. Hovland and Morikawa, who was runner-up to Wolff in Minnesota, have already cashed in on the PGA Tour.
“It ’s been s uper cool watching my buddies competing out on the P GA Tour,’’ Wu said. “I’m not too worried about missing out on anything. I’m just trying to take advantage of my situation. I made the choice of staying amateur to hopefully make the Walker Cup team. I’ve still gotten good opportunities, getting to play Pebble and getting to play this week. I’m just trying to take advantage of my situation, which I’m very happy with.’’
Neither Wolff, Hovland nor Morikawa qualified for this week’s Open.
What those three players have proven to Wu, not that he didn’t already know it, is that anything is possible — even right out of college.
“It goes to show where the level of golf on the amateur and college level has gotten,’’ Wu said. “It’s really good. These guys can already compete. It goes to show that these are guys I was playing with three weeks ago and now they’re competing on the PGA, which means I can go out and compete.’’
Wu began playing golf at age 7 with his father, Yichun, in Danville, Calif. The family moved to Beijing and then to Scarsdale. Wu attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, and it was there he earned a partial golf scholarship to Stanford.
“I always wanted to go to Stanford,’’ Wu said. “So when they started recruiting me, that was like a dream come true.”
As it turned out, that was only the beginning of a series of dreams coming true for Wu.