Kevin Yu's Winning Bag | 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship
Kevin Yu came through clutch with birdies on the 72nd hole and the first playoff hole to secure his first PGA Victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Yu is a Callaway staffer and plays nearly all Callaway clubs minus a couple clubs.
All WITB information is courtesy of GolfWRX.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max (8.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VC 6 X
Off the tee, Kevin Yu games the latest low-spinning option from Callaway, the Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max, playing it at 8.5 degrees with a Graphite Design Tour AD VC 6 X shaft in it. The Triple Diamond Max is a bit of a hybrid in terms of design, incorporating the low-spin and workability you’d expect from the triple diamond model with the same construction as their MAX model. Yu finished in the middle of the pack in both driving accuracy and driving distance. He averaged 306.6 yards off the tee, which was the 35th in driving distance, while he found 30 of 57 fairways, which was the 36th most accurate off the tee. That combination of distance and accuracy led to a 19th place finish in Strokes Gained Off The Tee, gaining 2.032 strokes on the field overall.
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Moving to Yu’s fairway woods where he games a single Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max 16.5 degree. Unlike his driver where he opts for a blend of the triple diamond and max, here Yu goes with the Max, which provides ultimate launch and forgiveness. With it playing as a 4-wood, this gives Yu a club he can attack par 5’s in two with, along with another option off the tee.
Irons: Srixon ZX Mk II Utility (3), Callaway Apex TCB (4-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
For his irons, Yu blends a Srixon ZX MK II Utility Iron with Callaway Apex TCB’s. The 3-utility gives him another option for his long game with different spin and much different ball flight, providing him with versatility both into greens and off the tee. The TCB’s are a players iron with a touch more forgiveness than a true muscle back, and are the same irons seen played by players like Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele. For the tournament, Yu finished 9th in Greens In Regulations hit, finding 57 of 73, including the 18th hole twice on Sunday that setup the birdie to tie for the lead on the 72nd hole, and the birdie to win on the first playoff hole. Overall Yu gained 2.625 strokes on the field on his approach, which was 24th best overall.
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (46-10S,56-10S), Callaway Opus (52-10S), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (46-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Onyx (60)
We see the other non-Callaway club in Yu’s bag make its appearance in his wedge lineup. Yu games two different Callaway models and a Vokey Wedgeworks 60. For his 46 and 56, Yu plays the generation old Callaway Jaws Raw, while puts the newly released Opus into his bag for his 52 degree gap wedge, and then rounds off his wedges with that Vokey Wedgeworks. Yu’s wedge game this week wasn’t his strong suit. He actually lost 0.817 strokes to the field around the green, which ranked 51st overall. Despite that number, Yu was able to convert 12 of his 16 up-and-down opportunities, which was tied for 27th best.
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Milled Six T
If there’s one club that stood above the rest in Yu’s first career PGA Tour victory, it was his Odyssey Ai-One Milled Six T putter. This mid-size, rounded back mallet was superb throughout his victory, including two clutch makes to force the playoff, and eventually win the playoff. Yu led the field with 108 feet of total putts made and also led the tournament in Putts per GIR, averaging just over 1.5 strokes on the green when he found it in regulation. This helped Yu finish 2nd in Strokes Gained Putting, gaining 8.679 strokes on the field from the putting surface.