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Y.E. Yang Wins the PGA Championship!
Y.E. Yang (Yang Yong-eun) smoothly strokes his eight-foot putt and it curls left into the 72nd hole for the 91st PGA Championship. He pumps his fists, hoists his golf bag high in the air (showing a South Korean flag), and then, ultimately lifts the 28-inch tall, 27-pound Wanamaker Trophy in front of thousands of cheering spectators, while millions around the world watch on TV.
He won the final major of the year, at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Cheska, Minnesota. The course was set up extremely difficult at 7,674 yards (par 72), the longest ever for a major. With all the world's top ranked players in the field, he clearly beat them all. He also did this under unthinkable and unpredictable circumstances – he was playing with Tiger Woods with Tiger having a two stroke advantage at the beginning of the final round. Just about everyone said beating Tiger was impossible when he has the lead, or share of the lead, going into the final round of a major. Fourteen times out 14, the world's best players have repeatedly failed in the past. Y.E., ranked 110th in the world, beat the improbable odds by taking down Tiger – and the rest of the field. He became the first Asian-born male golfer to win a major and will forever be in the record books.
Born 37 years ago on Jeju Island, South Korea, Y.E. was the fourth child among eight – three boys and five girls. His twin sister was born one minute later. The eight siblings grew up in a humble environment where his parents farmed to eke out a meager living. All the children, more likely than not, helped their parents with various chores. Y.E., for six months, worked the family farm full time after graduating from high school. At 19, Y.E. wanted to earn money and his brother suggested checking out the local driving range. The word driving had nothing to do with cars; that's when he discovered golf and learned that golfers drove golf balls. Y.E.'s new job: pick up scattered golf balls, over and over again. While working, he watched golfers hit (or drove) balls. He perhaps wondered if he could hit the ball as well as they could. When he tried … he was hooked. With a set of hand-me-down clubs, Y.E. would hit balls late into the nights – when everyone was deep in sleep. He had to use a flashlight because the practice range did not have any light fixture. He loved hitting balls so much that when others hit a few buckets of balls, Y.E. would hit hundreds. It didn't take long for him to be good enough to become a golf instructor at Jeju's Ora Country Club.
Y.E.'s father, Yang Han-joon (65) remembers telling his son that golf is a sport for the rich and tried to persuade him to farming. Influenced by father's pesky nagging, Y.E. tried other "legitimate" jobs – excavator operator (within two months, he injured his knee and had to quit) and nightclub waiter. He wasn't happy; life just did not seem to have a purpose doing these mundane jobs.
After getting discharged from mandatory Korean military service, Y.E. decided he would make his living playing golf. He moved to New Zealand and turned semi-pro in 1995 and full-fledge pro the following year. Y.E. married Park Young-joo in 1999, and, two would go on to have three sons. His first win as a golf pro came in 2002, but more recognizable one in 2006 when he defeated a strong field of world renown players to win the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, China. Tiger was the runner-up.
With his first PGA win under his belt, perhaps he was less worried about providing for his family. Y.E.'s golfing ability started to show. Leading up to mid-August, Y.E. played 18 events, making 14 cuts, placing in the top-10 three times and the top-25 nine times.
Inspired by a fellow countryman K.J. Choi (Choi Kyung-joo; 최경주), Y.E. became eligible to play in PGA-sanctioned tournaments in 2008, after three years of grueling attempts at the Qualifying School. Placing outside the 125 in money list (i.e., 157th) he made a reluctant U-turn to the dreaded Q-School. When he successfully graduated and had another fully exempt year to play in PGA tour, he was 513th in world ranking. Financially struggling, he went to Hawaii in January and anxiously waited a week hoping to get into the Sony Open as an alternate but no spot became available -- $2,500 was a huge waste, to a pro who wasn't making much. The breakthrough came in March, at the Honda Classic where he edged John Rollins by a single stroke claiming his first PGA Tour victory.
On June 30th, Y.E. came to the JPC&Co's Meet the PGA Tour Pros event in Great Falls, VA. Many PGA pros were in town for Tiger Woods' AT&T National held at Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, MD. The event attracted a number of PGA pros, lawmakers, football stars and other celebrities – the MC was Dan Hellie, a sportscaster for NBC. Y.E., along with his best PGA touring buddy Charlie Wi, mingled with the party crowd. Towards the end of the party, an older Korean gentleman had a special request for Y.E. and Charlie – "Let's make it three in a row, and make Koreans proud." He was referring to Korean (K.J. Choi), Korean descendant (Anthony Kim), and Korean (Y.E. Yang or Charlie Wi) champions for 2007, 2008, and 2009 AT&T Nationals. (Y.E. finished tied for 22nd but Charlie missed the cut. The winner was – surprise – Tiger Woods. At least, the outcome made Asians proud as Tiger is half Asian; his mother is from Thailand.)
Y.E. would eventually make Koreans proud – a couple months later – at a much bigger stage. At the PGA Championship. "Son of wind," because he would play well in Jeju Island's windy conditions, Y.E. climbed up the leaderboard each day. With the best score of the tournament – 67 – on Saturday, he would be paired with the #1 in the world – Tiger – for the last group on Sunday. All experts assumed it was a done deal. They were speculating not who will win but just how many strokes will Tiger win by.
Whopping five strokes! Except it wasn't Tiger. Y.E. took down the #1, chipping away his lead. The seesaw battle would ensue, side by side, stroke by stroke, while millions of golfers were breaking the TV Nielson rating record – munching more snacks and drinking more beer. By the time they made the turn, both were dead even. All other players – Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh, Lucas Glover, Lee Westwood, Robert Allenby – faltered into obscurity. The stunning 60-foot eagle chip on the 14th hole would put Y.E. at the top for the first time in the tournament. Y.E. would maintain his one stroke lead to the 18th tee. (Bring more snacks and beer, please!)
Both Tiger and Y.E. hit the 18th fairway, except Y.E. was stymied by a massive tree whereas Tiger would have a clear shot to the green. Y.E.'s spectacular 3-hybrid shot over the huge tree, into the gusting wind, over a bunker, flew 210 yards landing eight feet from the hole. The spectators on the grandstand went bananas. Tiger was shell-shocked. Needing at least birdie and maybe eagle, Tiger fired at the flag…except the ball did not quite go there. A pulled shot missed the green by less than a foot ending in the rough. Now Tiger needed to chip in, to force a playoff. You could hear a pin drop as Tiger was addressing the ball and mentally visualizing his chip shot going into the hole. Could this be another miraculous shot by Tiger?
No sir. The chip would sail by the hole. Then, Y.E. calmly stepped up to his ball and put a beautiful stroke for the final birdie. Y.E. 70 vs. Tiger 75. The pickup of his Korean flagged bag into the air was one of the most unique celebrations that people chatted about the following morning by coffee machines.
Y.E. Yang's victory was no fluke. His determination, perseverance, and hard work at the game are just starting to show results. We all know Tiger's work ethics. Both Y.E. and Tiger have paid their dues spending countless hours perfecting their swing. Both are great inspirations to all of us who love the game.
So, get out there. Practice your swing mechanics. Hit that intentional draw or fade. Drain those six-footers ten in a row. See you out on the course or on the range . . . soon.
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