Kevin Yu with his parents at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Image courtesy PGA Tour/Getty Images.
By Rahul Banerji
Kevin Yu became only the third player from Chinese Taipei to win a PGA Tour tournament with a thrilling playoff victory over Beau Hossler in the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday.
The 26-year-old birdied the 18th hole twice at The Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, first from 15 feet in regulation to force extra-time and then from six feet to claim victory in front of his parents.
“It’s literally a dream come true,” said Yu, who joins T.C. Chen (1987 LA Open, now the Genesis Invitational) and C.T. Pan (2019 RBC Heritage) as winners from Chinese Taipei, the PGA Tour said.
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I was five. I think this is the golfers’ dream to win on the PGA Tour. And then I did it today and I’m really thankful for my parents right now. Without them, I don’t think I could’ve done this, win this tournament.”
He started the final round two shots back of leader Keith Mitchell (70) and forced his way into a two-way playoff with Hossler (68) with a closing 67, which included a pivotal birdie at the last hole in regulation.
Yu and Hossler ended the week on 23-under, with Mitchell sharing third place with Lucas Glover (66).
Upping his game
“I knew I have to make a birdie to have a chance get into a playoff, so just to see that I can really pull the trigger to do the things I wanted to do, I think that helped me a lot with my mindset,” said Yu, who ranked second in Strokes Gained: Putting for the event.
“I’ve been working really hard. Sometimes you can’t; sometimes you can. Like today, like in that pressure moment, I can do it. I think that helped me a lot. I think that definitely stood out to me for this week.”
Yu paid tribute to his father, Tommy, who operated a driving range at home and taught him the game when he was about five years old.
They subsequently worked hard to support Yu’s golf ambition and with C.T. Pan encouraging him to attend college in the US, he made his way to highly-rated Arizona State University where he was a standout.
Yu also benefited from the PGA Tour University which gave him direct access to the developmental Korn Ferry Tour.
Prophetic statement
An off-the-cuff moment with his father early on during the week proved to be prophetic as well for Yu.
“It’s really big. I think there are only like three guys from Taiwan winning on the tour. To have them right here, I think it’s really almost feel like impossible things. I’m just really thankful for my parents.
“My dad taught me how to play golf when I was five and they have been working really hard, sacrificing a lot. It’s just without them I could not have done this today,” said Yu.
“On Tuesday, we pulled into the parking lot. My dad was driving and he saw a parking spot in the very beginning and I told him, that’s for past champions, we can’t park here.
“He was like oh, okay, okay. We can park here after this year. You know, I mean, I don’t know, it just happened. I Just had a good start for the week and then had good momentum, and my dad and my mom, they always trust me very much and that’s very special.”
Big jump
The victory, worth $1.36 million, pushed Yu from 96th to 60th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings with those ranked 51st-60th qualifying for the first two Signature events of the 2025 Season.
A welcome break after his Regular Season ended in August – he spent time fishing with friends and hanging out with family at home – was also pivotal in Yu’s ascension as the 12th first-time winner this season.
“I feel like I took a little break from last month, really helped me. I was playing great and just mentally I was just kind of tired, frustrated, and feel like momentum couldn’t going anywhere in the last six months,” he said.
“Then today out there I was trying to do my best – I set a goal if I can shoot 5-, 6-under, I would have a chance, and I focused on that. I did a pretty good job out there.”
Yu (66-66-66-67) got the better of Hossler (65-64-68-68) with a birdie-3 on the first playoff hole, the 18th. It made him the 12th first-time winner in the season after Aaron Rai of England at the Wyndham Championship.
Yu’s 23-under 265 set the Sanderson Farms Championship scoring record since the event moved to the Country Club of Jackson improving on the 266 by Scott Stallings in 2012.
Also read: USA retain Presidents Cup with 10th straight win over Internationals
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