Sean Yu shot 1-under at Riviera, and earned a spot in the field this week
The Genesis Invitational kicked off a busy tournament week at Riviera Country Club today with the Collegiate Showcase, where top collegiate players played for a single exemption into the 2020 Genesis Invitational, which starts Thursday.
For most of the day it looked like even par might be good enough as scoring proved difficult on a blustery California day.
Sean Yu of San Jose State rose above the blustery conditions, holding off second-place finishers Allen Hamilton (University of Kentucky) and Spencer Soosman (University of Texas) by two strokes.
By posting 1-under, Yu earned a spot into his first PGA Tour event. And it's not just any event -- the former Genesis Open is now the "Genesis Invitational." That puts the tournament on par with Jack Nicklaus' Memorial and The Arnold Palmer Invitational. Smaller fields, bigger purses (The Genesis has $2M more in the pot this year -- not that Sean Yu will be able to play for it) and one more kicker. Invitational status means a three-year Tour exemption to the winner. (Regular Tour events award two-year exemptions.)
“To be honest, I didn’t think that I’d ever get to where I am today. It’s definitely a dream come true to play in a Tour event and to play at The Riviera Country Club. To play in the Genesis Invitational is definitely something that I never even dreamed of,” said Yu.
University of Southern California, led by Genesis Invitational professional Yikeun Chang and University of Southern California freshman Yuxin Lin, won the team competition with a low score of 10-under-par 61.
Other than a major, Yu's opportunity is one of the best for an amateur on the PGA Tour. We wish the San Jose State standout (and AmateurGolf.com member we might add) the best at Riviera this week.
THE FIELD (Click the tournament name above for full results)
Alex Goff (Kentucky)
Allen Hamilton (Kentucky)
Jack Trent (UNLV)
Jose Diboldox (Odessa College)
Clay Feagler (Pepperdine)
Josh McCarthy (Pepperdine)
Yuxin Lin (USC)
Sean Yu (San Jose State)
Spencer Soosman (Texas)
Kyle Hogan (Texas Tech)
Jan Schneider (Washington)
Noah Woolsey (Washington)
Kirby Coe-Kirkham (Washington)
MORE INFO
2020 marks the sixth time the tournament hosted the Collegiate Showcase. Past winners of the event who earned an exemption into the PGA TOUR event at Riviera are Kentucky’s Lukas Euler (2019), Texas’ Scottie Scheffler (2018), Pepperdine’s Sahith Theegala (2017), Illinois’ Charlie Danielson (2016) and Wake Forest’s Will Zalatoris (2015).
The Collegiate Showcase also features a pro-am style event with teams comprised of a PGA TOUR pro and two amateurs representing their alma mater. Professionals expected to tee it up at Riviera on Monday include defending champion J.B. Holmes (Kentucky), Abraham Ancer (Odessa), Ryan Moore (UNLV), CT Pan (Washington), Andrew Putnam (Pepperdine), Jhonattan Vegas (Texas) among others. The three-man pro-am teams compete against each other in best-ball play, with the lowest scoring team winning a $50,000 donation to the school’s golf program. For the second straight year, the tournament has collaborated with the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) to help educate college golf programs on the unique opportunity available by participating in the event.
View results for Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase
ABOUT THE Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase
The Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase was
founded in 2015. It is a chance for collegiate players
to play with PGA Tour alumni from their respective
schools. Two simultaneous competitions take place:
In the individual competition, the collegiate players
will play their own ball to record an 18-hole score.
When the Collegiate Showcase was founded, the
winner experienced the excitement of playing in the
Genesis Invitational that same week at Riviera. With
the status of the Geneisis Invitational changed to
"elevated" the showcase changed to awarding a
playing spot in the
Genesis Scottish Open, a co-sanctioned PGA TOUR &
DP World Tour event played in July.
In the team competition, the professional and the
two amateurs (playing at a specified percentage of
their most current and verified handicap) will team
up to play a best ball format (one-ball). The low
Professional and Amateurs team will take home the
Champions Trophy for their school and a nice check
going to their university's golf program.
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