Sean Yu of San Jose State wins Genesis Collegiate Showcase

February 10, 2020 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Sean Yu shot 1-under at Riviera, and earned a spot in the field this week

13 players teed off in a pro-am style event at Riviera, with Yu's 1-under round earning him a spot in the PGA Tour's Genesis Open

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.

About the Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase

Sean Yu of San Jose State wins Genesis 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 collegiat...

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