Sunday, August 16, 2009

Y.E. Yang Nets 91st PGA Championhip Title

What is the bigger story, Tiger Woods losing the 91st PGA Championship after a commanding 54-hole lead or Y.E. Yang winning being the first asian-born player to win a major? Yang's win will surely inspire a continent where golf is gaining popularity at lightning speed, paving the way for junior golfers in Asia.

Tiger Woods was clearly the favorite since the tournament started. After shooting a bogeyless 67 on the first round, many have predicted a sure-win for him. When things got a little shaky on the third round, defending champion Padraig Harrington posed a serious threat... not Y.E. Yang. After all, how could Yang win? First of all, he is not KJ Choi. Second, he never played alongside Tiger and it is a fact that a lot of professional players crumble when playing head to head with Tiger Woods himself. And last, "YE Yang who?"

37-year-old Yang was below everyone's radar. Who would've thought that he could give Woods the biggest upset of 2009?

During the news conference today, Tiger Woods said, "I did everything I needed to do, except for getting the ball in the hole. Just didn't make the putts when I needed to make them."

What is also very obvious while watching this pair today was YE Yang's demeanor. He was calm the entire time. He smiles a lot even when he hits bad shots and never showed that he was in any kind of pressure the entire game. At one point, he reminded me of Tom Watson during the British Open in Turnberry.

Though I am quite disappointed, I must admit, that Tiger didn't win, I am glad that YE Yang won. He played like a true champion today.

Food for thought: The LPGA is currently dominated by Asians. Could this be the beginning of Asian dominance in the PGA Tour?

1 comment:

  1. Tiger woods’ magical streak, going 8 for 8 winning majors when he led after 36 holes, had to become an end sometime.
    We expected that Woods’ magic would be broken someday; however, we never expect it would be Yang to do this.
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