JACKSON, Miss. — Kevin Yu made a 15-foot birdie on the 18th hole for a 5-under 67, then birdied from 6 feet in a playoff to defeat Beau Hossler and win the Sanderson Farms Championship Sunday is his. first PGA Tour title.
Yu was almost forgotten in the final major round which appeared to be a duel between Hossler and Keith Mitchell until the 26-year-old Taiwanese made a birdie to tie them ahead.
Hossler pulled his drive on the 18th in regulation behind a tree, having to tee off and hit his third shot 4 feet to save par. Mitchell had a 35-foot birdie putt to win and take the edge of the cup. But he missed a 4-foot comebacker for par, shot 70 and missed the playoff.
Mitchell tied for third with former US Open champion Lucas Glover, who played the final six holes in 5-par — including an eagle on the 4th 15th — for a 66.
Hossler was also left out of the game in the 18th in the playoffs. Yu hit first and sent his approach 6 feet to the right of the hole. The Hossler had to hit below the trees, and turned sharply and went into the front room. He jumped up to 2 feet for protection.
Yu hit his winning putt, a victory that sent him to the Masters and the PGA Championship for the first time. He will resume his season at Kapalua for The Sentry, a PGA Tour winners’ circle in 2024.
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I was 5 years old,” said Yu. “This is every golfer’s dream, to win on the PGA Tour. I did it today. I thank my parents. Without them, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Yu and Hossler, who shot 68, finished at 23-under 265.
It was Hossler’s 200th start on the PGA Tour without a win — four of them as a rookie — and it was very close. He bounced back with a bogey at the start of the back 9 as he tried to keep pace with Mitchell, and pulled into a share of the lead with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole.
But he didn’t give himself a good look at 18 or in the playoffs.
“Even though I didn’t have my best stuff on the back nine I grinded hard,” Hossler said “Hit really quality shots under the gun, and that’s all you can do. Obviously, Kevin played a good hole in the playoff. .”
Mitchell may be regretting his first win in five years. He was two shots ahead with five to play when he failed to birdie the par-5 14th or reach the par-4 15th. He still had a putt to win, and that’s when it all went wrong with a three-putt bogey.
“The first putt actually looked good on the face. When it missed, I turned my head and didn’t look at the fairway,” Mitchell said. “I thought it was going to break — guess it went back to the left. It was going to break and go down the hill.”
He played a 4-foot par putt inside the left corner and it stayed outside the left.
“I hate to finish with three putts,” Mitchell said. “I felt like I grinded to the finish and gave the first putt a really good chance.”
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