How winning Sanderson Farms Championship changed Kevin Yu’s PGA Tour path

• Kevin Yu returned to Jackson for the Sanderson Farms Championship Champion’s Day nearly a year after his first PGA Tour win.
• Winning the 2024 tournament gave Yu more confidence and opened up opportunities to play in signature events and majors.
• In 2025, Yu has achieved the highest FedEx Cup ranking of his career.
• Yu is learning to be patient with himself after setting high standards following his victory.

Kevin Yu spent his morning entertaining an energetic group of elementary school students. Standing before them, golf club in hand, he dared to field questions from the crowd at the Country Club of Jackson.

Sprinkled in between silly questions about his shoe size and if he could replicate the Happy Gilmore swing, one curious student threw out a more serious inquiry: What was the highlight of Yu’s career?

His answer, delivered without hesitation: winning the 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship.

Almost a year after winning his first PGA Tour event, Yu returned to Jackson for the Sanderson Farms Championship Champion’s Day on Sept. 18. The 2025 edition takes place Oct. 2-5.

“It definitely brought the good memories from last year to me,” Yu told the Clarion Ledger. “The course is still looking great, and I can’t wait to be back here to defend my title.”

In the year since his first PGA Tour win, plenty of new opportunities opened for Yu. He got to play in signature events such as The Sentry, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Genesis Invitational and the Travelers Championship. He also earned a spot in three majors: the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the Masters.

“It’s very cool,” Yu said. “I watched Master’s tournaments growing up, and then being there myself, it’s different. The history and everything and seeing the people there, It’s amazing.”

Winning the 2024 tournament during his second year on the PGA Tour set a new trajectory for Yu.

“It definitely gave me more confidence because I (was) still kind of a rookie last year to win on the tour,” Yu said. “So, it (gave) me the confidence that I can compete with those guys.”

Yu has seen a fair amount of success on the PGA Tour in 2025. In 24 events, he made the cut 15 times, finished in the top 25 eight times and finished in the top 10 twice. His play landed him at 63rd in the FedEx Cup standings, the highest rank of his career.

While Yu’s career has taken a step forward, he’s had to remember to be patient with himself.

“I want to still be a better person, be a better golfer,” Yu said. “But I would say I definitely, beginning of the year, I set a pretty high standard for myself, almost being too harsh on myself, so I kind of learned lessons. Coming back here, it’s great, but I also want to do good, but also just one step at a time.”

Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@gannett.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.