Chinese-American golfer Brandon Wu overcomes Covid-19 to earn fairy tale spot in US Open
- The 23-year-old recalls ‘far-fetched’ scenario of missing Korn Ferry Tour qualification to sealing homecoming Open
- Former Stanford star on friendship with Morikawa, wavering beliefs, and unlikely Beijing connections
What a whirlwind season for promising Chinese-American golfer Brandon Wu. The 23-year-old went from missing Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) qualification to earning a spot at the forthcoming US Open – and contracted Covid-19 in between.
“I tested positive earlier in the summer but I was totally asymptomatic, which was just really fortunate,” said Wu, who clinched his first professional win in the KFT Championship in Indiana last weekend, sealing one of five invitations to the Open in Winged Foot, New York, starting on September 17.
Wu had narrowly missed out on a guaranteed 2020/21 Tour season spot at the end of last year, meaning he had a conditional status and would not even earn points towards qualification. Like most sports, the ongoing pandemic temporarily halted the season and subsequent promotions, making way for new exemptions.
“It was surreal. From being five [strokes] back going into Sunday and almost not even thinking of a chance to win. But I kept my head down – it’s crazy how it all worked out in the end,” said Wu, who finished fifth in the KFT points list. He will also feature in some of the PGA Tour’s opposite field events throughout the upcoming season.
“They were going to give 10 total exemptions for players on the Tour. The problem was I couldn’t even score the points to try to get to the exemption. That’s why it seemed so far-fetched at that point – I couldn’t even play the tournaments much less go contend to get into the top five.