Y. E. Yang once dreamed of becoming a bodybuilder and owning a gym. He first swung a golf club at age 19, when a friend took him to a small driving range in Korea, where Yang smacked balls off a mat and into a net. He broke par for the first time at 22.
Not exactly the anticipated profile of a future Tiger slayer, eh?
Peer beyond the shock of Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship — honestly, Tiger Woods lost — and find a good-natured, 37-year-old journeyman. Yang was playful and self-effacing in the wake of his epic upset, lifting his golf bag over his head on the 18th green, joking about his imitation of Woods’ famous fist pump and describing himself as “an average Joe” until he took up the game.
He spent his required two years in the South Korean military, then shifted his attention to admiring Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus and devouring instructional tapes. Yang wanted to work as a club pro or instructor. He didn’t initially imagine he could earn a living as a tournament pro.
He patiently plugged away, playing in Korea and Japan and Europe before finally surfacing on the PGA Tour with some regularity in 2007. Yang had nine worldwide wins before arriving at Hazeltine National, so he was not as unfit for Sunday as his low profile suggested.
And, unlike so many others who wilted in the presence of The Red-Shirted One, Yang brought the right attitude.
“It’s not like you’re in an octagon where you’re fighting against Tiger and he’s going to bite you or swing at you with his 9-iron,” Yang said through an interpreter. “So the worst I could do was lose and probably drop a few ranks down on the final scoreboard. I really had nothing much at stake.”
Yang showed abundant personality in Sunday night’s news conference. Consider the response when he was asked if he would give Woods a rematch (which actually could happen at the Presidents Cup.)
“Never again,” Yang replied. “I would like to stay as the guy who won over Tiger at the PGA. No re-dos.”
Other nuggets and observations in the aftermath of the year’s final major:
n Yang soared from No. 110 to No. 34 in the world rankings released Monday.
n Se Ri Pak launched a parade of female golfers onto the LPGA Tour when she won the U.S. Women’s Open in 1998. By conquering Woods and becoming the first Asian-born man to win a major, Yang could spark similar interest in the game among young Korean males.
“That really created a huge boom in Korea,” Yang said of Pak’s landmark triumph, “where everybody started picking up clubs instead of tennis racquets and baseball bats. I hope this win, if not as significant, would have a parallel impact.”
n Call this an Olympic Club year in the majors.
Olympic’s curious niche is crowning the “other guy” in its four U.S. Opens — Jack Fleck over Ben Hogan in 1955, Billy Casper over Arnold Palmer in ‘66, Scott Simpson over Tom Watson in ‘87 and Lee Janzen over Payne Stewart in ‘98.
This year’s majors followed a similar pattern, with big-name players faltering in the end — Angel Cabrera over Kenny Perry (potentially the oldest Masters champ) at Augusta, Lucas Glover over Phil Mickelson in the U.S. Open, Stewart Cink over 59-year-old Watson in the British Open and Yang over Woods in the PGA.
n Woods’ expression on No. 18, upon seeing his lie in the greenside rough, was absolutely priceless. It blended shock, anger and puzzlement — he appeared totally flabbergasted, as if he suddenly realized he really could lose.
By the way, Woods handled his loss gracefully. He warmly congratulated Yang on the 18th green, smiling widely, forced or not, and repeatedly praised the winner afterward.
n And we close with a prescient, off-hand quip from one caddie Sunday at Hazeltine National. He spoke, with a touch of disgust, moments after Woods teed off with a pack of players in pursuit. “They don’t always have to fall like bowling pins, you know,” the caddie said.
No, they don’t.
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