Jackson, Mississippi, United States: China’s Carl Yuan posted his career-best PGA Tour finish with a tied sixth at the Sanderson Farms Championship where he agonisingly missed a par putt on the last green to join a play-off, which was won by American Luke List.
The 26-year-old Yuan produced a stunning slam-dunk eagle on the par-four 17th hole with a wedge shot from 119 yards out. But a bogey on the last where he burned the edge of the cup with his 18-foot par putt proved costly.
While Yuan signed off with a 72 and a 17-under total, List secured his second career victory in a five-man play-off after converting a 40-foot birdie on the first extra hole to pip overnight leader Ben Griffin (74), Ryder Cup star Ludvig Aberg (68), Henrik Norlander (70) and Scott Stallings (70). They all finished regulation play at 18-under.
Three-time Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) participant Yuan, playing in his rooking PGA Tour season after graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour last year, described the week was bittersweet, despite posting a career milestone.
The finish pushed him up 20 rungs to 131st position on the FedEx Cup standings, with the top 125 keeping their Tour cards at the end of FedEx Cup Fall which features seven events.
“I didn’t play great golf, but I hung in there tough,” said Yuan, who was bidding to become the first mainland Chinese golfer to win on the PGA Tour.
Chinese Taipei’s CT Pan, another AAC alumni, sank seven birdies en route to a 66 to finish tied ninth. It was his third top-10 of the season and moved him to 122nd on the FedEx Cup standings. Yuan’s compatriot Marty Dou Zecheng shot a 68 for solo 12th place and rose to 124th on the rankings.
Starting the final round three behind Griffin, Yuan began strongly with birdies on the second and third. But he dropped shots on the sixth, seventh and 10th to fall off the pace. He battled gamely and found hope with his hole-out eagle on 17 before his disappointing finish.
“I knew I had to do something special coming down the stretch on 17. All I was thinking was trying to hole the shot, and fortunately it happened,” said Yuan, who played in the final pairing. “There’s always hope; never quit. If you’ve got a shot, the ball can always go in the hole. That was a really cool moment for me.”
Yuan now heads to this week’s Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin in Vegas invigorated by his first top-10 as he fights for his PGA Tour survival. “It’s definitely some good momentum going into the next event. I feel much better with my game, and when I get confidence going, I can shoot some low scores,” he said.
The 38-year-old List, who played in the third-to-last pairing, made it into the play-off when Griffin, in the final pairing, missed a par putt from just under 10 feet on the 72nd hole.
List then made an outrageous birdie putt to win the title in front of his wife and two children. “Just to have the opportunity to get in a play-off, I felt is a gift,” said List, who won the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open.
