All weekend I taunted the fact that Tiger Woods never lost a major championship if he led after 54 holes. It was a crazy statistic. And I'm sure most believed it would always be that way. So what happened? Y.E. Yang happened.
The South Korea native became not only the first person to overtake Tiger Woods on Sunday, but also the first Asian-born player to win a PGA major. A two-under-par 70 was enough to outduel his playing partner Woods, who — one shot beyind Yang going into the 18th — couldn't hit the green on the final hole, whereas Yang finished strong with a birdie.
Yang's round included a fantastic eagle on 14, which was basically the difference in the tournament. Yesterday I mentioned how two strokes seems like a ton of mistakes for Tiger Woods, but sure enough, he missed some putts and Yang made some. That explains the five-stroke swing.
But as many other contenders would falter in the aura of Tiger Woods, that just didn't happen for Yang, whose Wikipedia article was already changed to reflect his first major victory even before he reached the 18th green.
And so concludes the set of 2009 PGA major winners: Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink, and Y.E. Yang. (Or if you're scoring at home, Field 4, Tiger 0.) We saw three first-time major champions, two playoff rounds, and a whole new set of John Daly trousers. Not a bad year at all.
Y.E. Yang -8
Tiger Woods -5
Lee Westwood -3
Rory McIlroy -3
Lucas Glover -2
Henrik Stenson -1
Ernie Els -1
Martin Kaymer -1
Soren Kjeldsen -1
Persons Of Interest
Padraig Harrington E
Vijay Singh +1
Kenny Perry +6
Stewart Cink +11
Phil Mickelson +12
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Thinking it was a forgone conclusion, I didn't turn the round on until the 14th hole. Great timing on my part and was hooked for the remainder. It was good to see a moment of history take place.
2 - roger nowosielski
Indeed, one of the greatest upsets, comparable to Tyson's loss against 40 to 1 odds.