Jackson (USA), Oct 8 (IANS): Kevin Yu made golf history by becoming only the third player from Chinese Taipei to win a PGA TOUR tournament following a thrilling playoff victory over Beau Hossler in the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Yu 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 a “dream” victory in front of his parents who were amongst the fans gathered for the second of eight PGA TOUR FedExCup Fall tournaments.
“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.
Yu, who turned professional in 2021, made it to the PGA TOUR through the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour University programme. He has two top-10 finishes in his first four starts.
In October 2024, Yu won his first PGA Tour event; the Sanderson Farms Championship, winning on the first hole of a playoff against Beau Hossler. The Chinese Taipei golfer played for Arizona State University in 2017, winning three individual collegiate titles and finishing third, behind Matthew Wolff, in the individual competition at the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship.