Kevin Yu Breaks Through At Sanderson Farms Championship | The Sunday Swing

The Sunday Swing 
October 6th, 2024

Welcome back to another edition of the Sunday Swing presented by 2nd Swing Golf. This week, the PGA Tour continued its Fall Series at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi.

Sanderson Farms Championship - Tournament History 

The Sanderson Farms Championship dates back to 1968 when it was first played as the Magnolia Classic. Sanderson Farms took over as the title sponsor in 2013, taking over from Viking after just five years. For much of its history, the Sanderson Farms Championship has been played as an alternate event meaning it wasn’t on the main PGA Tour event schedule. Beginning in 2007, the Sanderson Farms Championship became part of the FedEx Cup Fall Series to be played in October. 

Played at the picturesque Country Club of Jackson, which has been around since 1914. Over the years, it has showcased a succession of talented winners including Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, Payne Stewart, and Craig Stadler. Nowadays, the Sanderson Farms serves as a great opportunity for the younger players to earn a 2-year exemption on the PGA Tour. It has provided numerous first-time winners of late, and often been a catalyst for a long career on the PGA Tour.

The Big Swing 

This week the big swing belongs to first-time tour winner Kevin Yu. The 26-year-old from Taiwan earned his PGA Tour card via the Korn Ferry Tour in 2021. In 2024, was Yu enjoyed his best season on the PGA Tour, playing in 22 events, making 12 cuts and posting four top-10s. The former Arizona State Sun Devil has certainly been trending in the right direction heading into another highly anticipated season on the PGA Tour. 

Yu came out this week and continued his strong play, posting a pair of 66s on Thursday and Friday. Also starting out strong were a host of Tour veterans including Lucas Glover, Beau Hossler, and Keith Mitchell. 

On Saturday, Yu continued rolling, riding a hot putter to a third consecutive 66. But it was Mitchell who was able to take the 54-hole lead, after a bogey-free Saturday 65. Hossler, Bud Cauley, and  Glover were all right on his heels heading into an important final round. 

As the Sunday chase began, players were taking advantage of the course and posting low scores. Alex Smalley started the day at 12-under par, but after five birdies and two eagles, Smalley posted a final round 63 and took the clubhouse lead at 21-under par. Next to post a leading number was Glover, who played the last four holes in 4-under par to post 22-under. While Glover stayed warm on the range hoping for a playoff, Yu jarred a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th to post 23-under par and ruin any chances for Glover to pull off a comeback. 

Now it was Yu’s turn to wait for Mitchell and Hossler to decide his fate. After a long range birdie putt fell for Hossler on the 17th green, he joined Mitchell and Yu at 23-under par with just one hole to play. A wayward drive forced Hossler to layup short of the par-4 18th. He was able to recover nicely however, hitting his third shot to within three feet from 130 yards. 

Mitchell on the other hand, faced about 35-feet for birdie and the win. He got aggressive on his birdie effort, running it by a good four feet. With all the pressure on him to secure his spot in the playoff, Mitchell made a poor stroke and missed on the low side. After leading for what felt like the entire day, a devastating three-putt ended Mitchell’s week instantly. 

Yu and Hossler, who were both searching for their first PGA Tour titles, made the trip back to the 18th for a playoff. This playoff makes it three years in a row that the Sanderson Farms Championship has gone to extra holes. Just like he did in regulation, Hossler missed his drive way left on the first playoff hole, while Kevin Yu found the fairway yet again. Yu immediately applied the pressure by stuffing his approach to six feet. Hossler’s second shot found a greenside bunker, and even though he was able to hit his third shot close, Yu still had just 6 feet for the victory. 

Yu’s putter had been rock solid throughout the week, and it didn’t let him down when it mattered most. The birdie gave him his first PGA Tour victory. Most importantly, he now earned Tour status for the next two seasons, and got a spot in the coming seasons elevated events. Yu also became just the 3rd player from Taiwan to win on the PGA Tour.

Winner’s Bag - Kevin Yu

Callaway staffer Kevin Yu picked up his first tour title at the Sanderson Farms Championship. His setup includes mainly current generation Callaway products, with a couple of miscellaneous exceptions. Off the tee, Yu plays the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max driver (9 degrees). He carries one fairway wood, the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max 3-wood (16.5 degrees). Similar to Scottie Scheffler, and many other players on tour, Yu plays a Srixon ZX MK II Utility Iron (3) to go with his set of Callaway Apex TCB irons (4-9). Around the greens Yu has three different types of wedges — two Callaway Jaws Raw (46 and 56 degrees), a Callaway Opus gap wedge (52 degrees), and a Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks lob wedge (60 degrees). On the greens, Yu putts with a Odyssey Ai-One Milled Six T. 

Key Stats: 
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee- 19th
Strokes Gained: Approach to Green- 24th
Strokes Gained: Around the Green- 51st
Strokes Gained: Putting- 2nd 
Strokes Gained: Total- T1