[Winners Club] Sanderson Champion Kevin Wi, The Power of Precision Putting

First Career Win at Sanderson Farms Championship
Third Ever PGA Champion from Taiwan
1.53 Putts per Hole on Greens in Regulation
Equipped with Odyssey Ai-One Mild Six T Putter

He finished with a ‘saltwater putting’.

Kevin Yee is cheering after making the 'winning birdie' on the first hole of the Sanderson Farms Championship playoff.
[Jackson (USA) = AFP·Yonhap News]

This is the story of Kevin Yu (Taiwan). On the 6th (local time), he won the playoff at the PGA Tour Sanderson Farms Championship (total prize money $7.6 million) held at Jackson Country Club (par 72) in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. After tying with Bo Ho-sler (USA) at 23-under-par 265, he made the ‘winning birdie’ on the first hole of the playoff resumed at the 18th hole (par 4).

Kevin Yu is a representative ‘young gun’ of Taiwan. He won a gold medal at the 2013 Asian Youth Games, a team gold medal and an individual bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games. He started studying golf at Arizona State University in 2017 and won the Australian Amateur Masters in 2019. He turned professional in 2021, played on the Korn Ferry (2nd tier) Tour the following year, and joined the PGA regular tour in 2023.

This is his first win since debuting on the regular tour last year. The winner’s prize money is $1,368,000 (about 1.8 billion KRW). Kevin Yu became the third Taiwanese winner in PGA Tour history, following Jin Ji-chung and Pan Jeong-chung. He also improved his FedEx Cup ranking from 96th to 60th.

His putting stood out. He used the Odyssey Ai-One Milled Six T putter, a product known for its excellent forgiveness. Kevin Yu recorded a putting strokes gained of 8.68 over four days, ranking second. His putts per hole when hitting the green were even better, ranking first at 1.53. His clutch putting ability was outstanding at critical moments. He made a birdie on the 18th hole on the final day to join the playoff. He also sank a 1.5-meter winning birdie putt on the first playoff hole, which was the same hole.

Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max (9 degrees)

Fairway Wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (16.5 degrees)

Irons: Srixon ZX Mk II (#3), Callaway Apex TCB (#4-9)

Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (46, 56 degrees), Callaway Opus (52 degrees), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60 degrees)

Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Milled Six T

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X *Source=PGA Tour