Yi Cao

JOINED TOUR

• PGA TOUR China: 2014

PGA Tour China Series Victories (1)

• 2018 Chongqing Championship

International Victories (1)

• 2008 Sofitel Golf Championship [China]

PLAYOFF RECORD

PGA TOUR CHINA SERIES (1-0)

• 2018 Defeated William Harrold, Chongqing Championship

Personal

• Moved to Canada from China at age 15 to prepare for a professional golf career. 

Special Interests

Career Highlights

2017 Season

Played more than half the season on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada. Made the cut in half of his tournaments. In only six China Tour starts, still finished 18th on the Order of Merit. Added three other top-10s in his abbreviated season in China, an eighth-place showing at the Binhai Forest Tianjin Open, a T5 at the Pure Pu'Er Tea Classic and a T6 at the Shenzhou Peninsula Classic.

• Jiangsu Open: Best finish on the China Tour was a second-place outing at the Jiangsu Open. Shot a final-round 71 only to fall one shot behind winner Callum Tarren.
• Freedom 55 Financial Championship: Shot four under-par rounds at the Freedom 55 Financial Open in June, finishing T20 for his best showing on PGA TOUR Canada.

2016 Season

Split his time between the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR China. Played in seven events and earned ¥211,470 to finish 21st on the Order of Merit, thanks to four top-10s.

• Zhuhai Hengqing Phoenix Tree Open: Picked up another top-10, this time a T4 at the Zhuhai Hengqin Phoenix Tree Open in mid-November. Opened with a 1-over 72 at the Orient G&CC then rode three rounds of par or better (71-71-69) to the top-five that matched his fourth-place effort at the Yulongwan Yunnan Open for best of his campaign.
• Chongqing Newtown King Run Open: Added a second consecutive top-10, this time at the Chongqing Jiangnan NewTown KingRun Open. Began the event with a 5-under 67 then stumbled to a 1-over 73 in the second round. Played his final 36 holes in 9-under to T6 with Kook Hyan Kim and Jesse Speirs.
• Putian Open: Continued his solid play. Added his third top-10 of the season to his resume with a T9 at the Putian Open. Had three back-nine birdies at the Putian Mazu GC and Resort.
• Yulongwan Yunnan Open: In his PGA TOUR China debut, he made his presence felt with a fourth-place finish at the Yulongwan Yunnan Open. Prior to playing in Kunming, he had spent his entire season on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada. Shot rounds of 67-66-69-66 at Yulongwan GC to record his first top-five since finishing T4 at the 2015 Chongqing Jiangnan NewTown KingRun Open.

2015 Season

Finished 11th on the Order of Merit, recording four top-10s during the year.

• SIGA Dakota Dunes Open: Enjoyed a successful Mackenzie - PGA TOUR Canada debut when he T19 at the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open in Saskatoon in July. Opened 69-66 then added rounds of 70-71 on the weekend at Dakota Dunes GL.
• Chongqing Open: Jumped into contention at the Chongqing Jiangnan NewTown KingRun Open in mid-October after shooting a 5-under 67 in the second round. Trailed Sweden's Thomas Petersson by a stroke through 36 holes. Fell backward Saturday with a 3-over 75 then recovered on the final day with another 67 to T4 with Rory Hie and Justin Shin.
• The Eternal Courtyard Open: In his next start, earned his career-best Ping An Bank China Tour – PGA TOUR China Series' finish when he T3 at The Eternal Courtyard Open. After a disappointing start, where he shot a 76 and had a 9 on the par-5 10th hole, he recovered by shooting rounds of 72-72-67 the rest of the way to T3 with three others, five shots behind winner Shih Chang Chan. Broke inside the top-1,000 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time (No. 928).
• Buick Open: Had a strong start to his season, finishing T4 at the Buick Open for his first career top-10. Opened 68-69 to T4 with Zecheng Dou, Jamie Arnold and John Young Kim, four shots behind winner Josh Geary.
• World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions: Made his PGA TOUR and World Golf Championships' debut in November, at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai. Finished 74th at Sheshan International GC.

2014 Season

• Cadillac Championship: Earned his best finish of the season, opening with a 4-under 68 at the Cadillac Championship in Beijing. For the second consecutive tournament–and third time this season–shot a final-round 69 to T13.
• Chateau Junding Penglai Open: Picked up his first top-20 finish in September when he T17 at the Chateau Junding Penglai Open. Started slowly at Chateau Junding GC, with a 5-over 77. Rebounded nicely over his final 54 holes with an 8-under effort (70-69-69).
• Yunnan Open: Had another T41 when the Series returned from its summer hiatus. At the Yulongwan Yunnan Open, had three 70s to go with a second-round 74.
• Beijing Open: At the Earls Beijing Open, was T45, with a pair of 71s on the weekend.
• Lanhai Open: In his next start, again played on the weekend, this time at the Lanhai Open. Began the event with three consecutive 71s before dropping down the leaderboard with an 8-over 79 Sunday.
• United Investment Real Estate Wuhan Open: Earned his first top-25 outing of the season when he T20 at the United Investment Real Estate Wuhan Open on the strength of his first round in the 60s–a 3-under 69.
• Buick Open: At the Buick Open, was T49.
• Mission Hills Haikou: Finished T43 at the Mission Hills Haikou Open in the PGA TOUR China Series' debut.
• BMW Masters: Finished 67th at the European Tour's BMW Masters in late-October.

2013 Season

• Australian Open: Had a missed cut at the Australian Open.
• Nanshan China Masters: Missed the cut at the China Masters in his native China.
• The Foshan Open: Missed the cut at the Foshan Open.
• Volvo China Open: Qualified for the Volvo China Open by finishing eight in the 36-hole event but then missed the cut in the actual tournament.

2012 Season

• China Challenge Tour's first event at Tian Zhu G&CC: At the China Challenge Tour's first event of the season, at Tian Zhu G&CC, and playing in only his third professional event, shot an even-par 288 to finish second, two strokes behind winner Mu Hu. Held the 54-hole lead but stumbled on his final day, shooting an 8-over 80.
• Australian PGA Championship: In his rookie season as a professional, came back from an opening, 1-over 73 to record three consecutive par-or-better rounds at the Australian PGA Championship. Fired rounds of 71-72-71 at the par-72 Coolum Resort and Spa to T43.

2008 Season

Led the China Tour's order of merit.

• Omega Championship: At the season-ending Omega Championship, a third-round 81 kept him from contending, and he settled for a T17 in Beijing in October.
• Tianjin Championship: Was T21, with three others, at the Tianjin Championship in September.
• Kunming Championship: Added a T12 at the Kunming Championship, tying with amateur Mu Hu.
• Dell Championship: Was T32 at the Dell Championship at Xiamen G&CC.
• Guangzhou Championship: Finished alone in fifth at the Guangzhou Championship on the China Tour, playing at the Dragon Lake GC's Asian Games Course. Weekend rounds of 72-75 left him eight shots behind winner Lian Wei Zhang.
• Luxehills Golf Championship: Came right back in his next start, at the Luxehills Golf Championship, and was solo second, three shots behind Taiwan's Chi Huang Tsai. Opened with an even-par 72 then played his final 54 holes in 15-under.
• Shanghai Championship: Came close to winning at the Shanghai Championship in May. Opened 74-70-70 and was three strokes behind Xiao Ma Chen entering the final round. Fired a 1-over 73 on the final day to T2 with Chen, two strokes behind Taiwan's Mong Nan Hsu.
• Sofitel Golf Championship: Captured the Sofitel Golf Championship, defeating Lian Wei Zhang in a playoff after the pair finished tied at 10-under and a stroke ahead of amateur Dong Su. Held a three-stroke, 54-hole lead over Zhang but faltered on the final day, shooting a 2-over 74 to drop into the playoff.