Chinese golfer comes to fore
Yuan tees off 2024 by matching career-best finish at PGA Tour, eyes historic tournament win
China’s Carl Yuan Yechun matched his career-best finish on the PGA Tour with an impressive tied fourth at the Sony Open in Hawaii on Jan 14, as his 2024 season got off to a flying start.
Meanwhile, Grayson Murray sank a 38-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to win a three-man playoff, completing a stunning personal comeback.
The 30-year-old American — who has battled back from alcohol abuse, mental health issues, and a 2022 motor scooter accident in Bermuda — beat countryman Keegan Bradley and South Korean An Byeong-hun to capture his second career tour title.
Yuan, 26, hit a closing 7-under 63 at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, which included one eagle, six birdies, and a lone bogey, as he ended the week one shot shy of the three-man playoff.
Yuan shared fourth on 264 with American Russell Henley.
It proved to be the best possible start to the New Year for the talented Chinese player, who only got into last week’s elite field after his final 2023 FedEx Cup ranking was bumped up by one spot to 125th position — the cutoff for golfers to retain their PGA Tour cards — at the end of last year.
“I had a good mindset coming out today. Like I knew if I put up a really low score, I might have a chance,” said Yuan, who was among those jostling for the lead on the back nine.
Starting the final round five back, Yuan, who represented China at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, made a bold title charge with an outward 31 that included two birdies and a superb eagle from 10 feet on the ninth green.
He made four more birdies through the 16th hole with some outrageous putting to grab the lead but a bogey on 17, after he missed a four-foot putt to save par, proved costly to his title hopes in the end.
“I probably came up just a little bit short,” Yuan said. “I’m proud with how I played this week and I will try to keep the momentum going into the next couple of weeks. I mean, there are just so many shots for everybody (to reflect on). That’s the way golf works. I made a lot of 40-footers.”
Fully appreciative of the lifeline he was given to retain his playing rights for 2024, Yuan is now learning to take the highs and lows as they come. He is already a winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, and he hopes to become the first Chinese mainland golfer to triumph on the PGA Tour.
During the third round, Yuan said that he takes great pride in flying China’s flag. “Being one of the Chinese players out here competing on the best tour, I’m proud of myself and I hope my story will inspire a lot more young kids back home to get out here,” said Yuan, who finished solo fourth at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship last November.