“Means a lot for all the Taiwanese” – Kevin Yu on securing a spot among the top three Chinese-Taipei players on the PGA Tour

Kevin Yu won his first PGA Tour title on Sunday, October 6, after defeating Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Sanderson Farms Championship. With this victory, he became only the third player from Chinese Taipei to win on the Tour.

Yu shot a 5-under 67 in the final round to finish at 23-under, tying with Hossler after regulation play. In the playoff, while Hossler made a par, Yu clinched the win with a clutch birdie putt.

During the winner's press conference, Yu highlighted the significance of his victory as a player from Chinese Taipei.

"I think it means a lot for all the Taiwanese," he said. "I just feel like we have a lot of very talented junior players, and because I don't think we have a path to college, you have to come to the States to study, and I just feel like nowadays you get a lot of chances, like going through the college system."

Like for me, I went to Arizona State, stayed five years, I was a first class of the PGA TOUR University. I think that really helped me a lot. I finished fourth I think and went straight to Korn Ferry Tour, and Korn Ferry definitely helped me a lot to prepare for this moment," he added.

For the uninitiated, only C.T. Pan (RBC Heritage 2019) and Chen Tze-Chung (Los Angeles Open 1987) from Chinese Taipei had won the PGA Tour event before Kevin Yu.

Yu added that his or C.T. Pan's win could serve as motivation for younger players.

"I know we grew up in a tough spot," he continued. "We don't have a lot of courses in Taiwan. The conditions are just okay, not perfect. So I just show them that we can do it, we can do it by working really hard, have a clear mindset and dream big and we can do it."

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How many spots did Kevin Yu jump in the FedEx Cup fall standings after the Sanderson Farms Championship win?

The win at the Sanderson Farms Championship helped Kevin Yu surge 36 spots in the FedEx Cup Fall standings. He started the week at 96th and is now placed 60th. For the uninitiated, players who finish 51st to 60th will receive an exemption for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.

The purse for the Sanderson Farms Championship was $7,600,000. The 26-year-old golfer received a paycheck of $1,368,000 for his maiden PGA Tour title.