Kevin Yu wins Sanderson Farms in playoff for first PGA Tour win

Kevin Yu was in contention the entire final round at the Sanderson Farms Championship, but his debut PGA Tour win came as a surprise at the end.

That’s because Keith Mitchell and Beau Hossler were duking it out for the lead for the entire day. Yu was always a shot or two back after starting the day two back.

That was until he drained a 15-foot putt on the 72nd hole, ahead of the leaders to get to the clubhouse at 23 under.

The leaders came to the 18th tied with Yu, but Hossler hit it out of position and pleaded with rules officials for TIO relief which was denied.

Mitchell, meanwhile, hit his drive in the fairway and then gave himself a chance to win outright, finding the green, more than 30 feet away. But he ran his first putt four feet by and missed the comebacker to miss the playoff altogether.

Then Hossler miraculously got up and down from 131 yards for par to force a playoff.

But the playoff was all Yu. Hossler’s drive went left again, setting the stage for Yu, whose drive narrowly missed a divot in the fairway, to stuff his approach at 18 to six feet. He converted the putt to win the Sanderson Farms Championship, his first PGA Tour victory.

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Yu’s win comes at the tail end of what had been a solid, but unspectacular sophomore season on the PGA Tour. He had back-to-back top-10s early in the season which got him into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but he played in just one other Signature Event and finished 90th in the FedEx Cup, a slight improvement from his rookie year.

Now he’s secured himself PGA Tour membership through 2026.

Meanwhile, Hossler is still searching for his first PGA Tour win in his seventh season on Tour and Mitchell is still left searching for his second career title after blowing his second 54-hole lead on Tour this season.

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.

 

 

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