Yuan punches dream PGA Tour ticket

Carl Yuan Yechun became only the third Chinese mainland golfer to earn a coveted PGA Tour card following a tied-seventh finish in The Club Car Championship at The Landings Club in Savannah, Georgia, on Sunday.

The 25-year-old from Dalian, Liaoning province needed a solo-19th finish or better to surpass the 900 points threshold for players to finish inside the top 25 of the regular-season points list and thereby earn their PGA Tour card.

With 15 events left in the regular season, Yuan has now amassed 941 points thanks to Sunday's win, a maiden Korn Ferry Tour title two weeks ago, and two other top-three finishes. Marty Dou Zecheng and Zhang Xinjun are the previous two Chinese mainland players to hold PGA Tour cards－also secured via the Korn Ferry Tour following the regular season in 2017.

"I'm pretty excited about it, knowing that I will be on the PGA Tour next year. That's great news for me and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and next year," said Yuan, who closed with a 2-over 74 to finish five shots behind winner TJ Vogel.

Securing his place alongside the game's elite via the Korn Ferry Tour has been a lifelong goal for Yuan.

Last June, he put his PGA Tour dream on hold by returning to China to prepare for and represent his country at the Tokyo Olympics, and later compete in the National Games. He was ranked just outside the top 25 on the Korn Ferry Tour at the time.

He paid tribute to his wife Cathy Luo Ying, who is also a professional golfer, and his friends and family for keeping him focused.

"Everybody contributed a lot including my coach, wife, caddie, parents … you know my friends, everybody surrounding me have made me who I am pretty much. I want to thank all of them," said Yuan.

"It's going to be a new experience. Probably a lot of things are going to be new… new courses, new challenges, but I'm looking forward to playing good courses and maybe pair up with some big names to learn from them, and certainly hoping for bigger crowds to cheer me on. It's going to be exciting."

Growing up in Dalian, Yuan first picked up a golf club at age 9 due to his father's influence before moving to the US when he was 14 to attend high school.

It was then that his passion for the game grew, and he played college golf for three years at the University of Washington－where he met his wife－before taking the plunge in the play-for-pay ranks in 2018.

He won his first pro title on the PGA Tour Series China in Qingdao, Shandong province, and subsequently graduated onto the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019. His upward curve continued with three runner-up finishes during the 2020-21 wraparound Korn Ferry season, which earned him qualification for his first Olympic Games, where he finished tied-38th.

In Tokyo, he said: "There is some sacrifice that had to be done. Being able to do this for my country at an event which happens once every four years, it's a one-of-a-kind experience. I'll never regret doing this."

With a PGA Tour card now secured, Yuan intends to freewheel his way through the remainder of the Korn Ferry season in search for more victories.

"Same thing every week, same mindset and go out to shoot the lowest score possible. Nothing has changed even though I have reached the points threshold," said Yuan, who is based in Jacksonville, Florida.