McIlroy, Westwood tie for third in US PGA Championship
THE WINNER! Yang Young-Eun, to give him his full name, is a 37-year-old South Korean who was ranked No 110 in the world behind No 1 Tiger Woods, before the US PGA Championship.Mr Yang beats Tiger Woods down the stretch
to become first Asian male major winner
FROM THE TELEGRAPH.CO.UK WEBSITE
By MARK REASON in Chaska, Minnesota
South Korea's Y E Yang became the first Asian man to win a major - and he did it by beating Tiger Woods down the stretch.
That’s a bit like Manny Pacquiao knocking out Muhammad Ali in the 15th round.
Yang took out the man who had never lost the lead of a major going into the final round and he did it in style.
(Yang finished with a 70 for eight-under-par 280; Woods a 75 for 283 and second place).
Yang’s big punch at the US PGA Championship came when he holed his chip shot for eagle on the 14th hole. Legend has it that his caddie, a Chicago boy who doesn’t have much Korean, says: “Nice shot, Mr Yang.” Y E then replies: “Thank you, Mr Bean,” because he thinks his bagman looks like Rowan Atkinson.
'Nice’ didn’t quite cut it on Sunday.
Tiger stared and then holed his putt for birdie. He wasn’t going away, but then neither was Yang. We have seen him do this sort of thing before. Earlier this year Yang won the Honda Classic from the front. He said then that he needed to shoot two under in the final round to win, and he went out and did it.
After he won in Florida, Yang said the last four holes were longer than his entire career. Imagine how he must have felt over Hazeltine’s closing stretch with Tiger for company. It must have been like living eternity on the razor’s edge.
We wondered on the 17th green if Yang was going to be cut by the razor just when he was so close. He had two putts to take a two-stroke lead up the final hole and his dough-handed first effort came up eight feet short. He missed that, but his rescue club into the final green was a stroke of pure joy. Nice shot, Mr Yang.
Goodness knows what effect his win will have on Asian golf. We have been waiting for this for almost 40 years, ever since Mr Lu nearly won the Open. Surely the International Olympic Committee membership must now endorse golf’s inclusion in the Olympics.
Asia could become the golfing capital of the world if the equipment and ranges are made available to the kids who want to follow Mr Yang.
Over the closing two holes Tiger was dependent on the other man’s mistakes to have a chance and no champion likes to put himself in that position. This was Tiger’s missing major. He made more mistakes in the final round of this one than in the previous 14 wins put together.
All day Tiger was out with his distance control and he couldn’t buy a putt. That is the area of Tiger’s game that no longer walks the centre line of inevitability. This is the first time that he has lost a major from the front and the others may no longer believe that he is invincible.
Great as he is, Woods will be back, but what about the Europeans? Eight of them had top-10 finishes here, the sort of statistic that would have been unthinkable for most of the previous century. But in truth none of them contended over the final nine holes.
Padraig Harrington’s challenge ended amidst a flurry of shots that would not have been out of place in the Sunday hacker’s handicap challenge. A shot behind the leader when he came to the par-3 eighth hole, Harrington walked into what is known as a snowman in golf – a quintuple bogey 8. He finished with a 78 for joint 10th place on level par 288.
Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood were the highest home finishers, their closing rounds of 70 earning a tie for third. Their day will surely come, but Sunday belonged to Mr Yang.
The South Korean finished with a birdie and stepped off the razor’s edge into eternity.
HOW THEY FINISHED
Par 288 (4x72)
280 Y E Yang (Kor) 73 70 67 70
283 Tiger Woods 67 70 71 75
285 Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 71 73 71 70, Lee Westwood (Eng) 70 72 73 70
286 Lucas Glover 71 70 71 74
287 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 70 73 70 74, Ernie Els (Rsa) 75 68 70 74, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 73 70 71 73, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 73 71 68 75
288 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 74 73 69 72, Dustin Johnson 72 73 73 70, Graeme McDowell (NIrl) 70 75 71 72, Zach Johnson 74 73 70 71, John Merrick 72 72 74 70, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 68 73 69 78
289 Hunter Mahan 69 75 74 71, Vijay Singh (Fij) 69 72 75 73, Tim Clark (Rsa) 76 68 71 74
290 Michael Allen 74 71 72 73, Ross Fisher (Eng) 73 68 73 76, Oliver Wilson (Eng) 74 72 72 72, Corey Pavin 73 71 71 75, Ian Poulter (Eng) 72 70 76 72
291 Scott McCarron 75 72 71 73, Brendan Jones (Aus) 71 70 73 77, Ben Curtis 73 72 73 73, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 69 76 69 77, John Rollins 73 73 68 77, Robert Allenby (Aus) 69 75 75 72, K J Choi (Kor) 73 72 73 73, Stephen Ames (Can) 74 71 70 76
292 Jeff Overton 72 74 75 71, Steve Flesch 74 73 69 76, Kevin Sutherland 73 72 74 73, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 70 77 73 72
293 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 75 73 71 74, Soren Hansen (Den) 72 76 74 71, David Toms 69 75 72 77, Boo Weekley 74 74 71 74, Woody Austin 73 73 73 74, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 70 76 73 74, Fred Couples 74 74 73 72
294 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 76 70 72 76, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 71 73 78 72, Kenny Perry 74 70 78 72, Kevin Na 73 75 71 75, Chad Campbell 74 73 73 74, Ben Crane 70 75 72 77, Rich Beem 71 76 75 72, Luke Donald (Eng) 71 77 73 73
295 Anthony Kim 73 74 71 77, Michael Sim (Sco) 73 75 76 71, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 77 71 70 77, Camilo Villegas (Col) 73 73 76 73, Thomas Levet (Fra) 72 75 76 72
296 Charlie Wi (Kor) 72 76 75 73, Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn) 74 74 76 72, Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn) 71 74 73 78, Bob Tway 72 76 74 74
297 Richard Green (Aus) 75 73 74 75, Tom Lehman 72 74 76 75, John Mallinger 73 71 76 77
298 Nathan Green (Aus) 72 75 76 75, J J Henry 72 73 80 73, Jim Furyk 73 75 73 77, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 76 70 76 76
299 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 74 73 74 78, Justin Leonard 73 75 73 78, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 74 70 78 77, David Smail (Nzl) 75 73 75 76, Paul Goydos 70 78 78 73, Stewart Cink 73 73 72 81
300 Phil Mickelson 74 74 76 76
301 Greg Bisconti 75 72 78 76
302 Sean O'Hair 74 73 82 73
303 Grant Sturgeon 73 71 80 79, Chris Wood (Eng) 74 73 77 79, Bob Estes 74 74 77 78
305 Alastair Forsyth (Sco) 73 75 75 82
to become first Asian male major winner
FROM THE TELEGRAPH.CO.UK WEBSITE
By MARK REASON in Chaska, Minnesota
South Korea's Y E Yang became the first Asian man to win a major - and he did it by beating Tiger Woods down the stretch.
That’s a bit like Manny Pacquiao knocking out Muhammad Ali in the 15th round.
Yang took out the man who had never lost the lead of a major going into the final round and he did it in style.
(Yang finished with a 70 for eight-under-par 280; Woods a 75 for 283 and second place).
Yang’s big punch at the US PGA Championship came when he holed his chip shot for eagle on the 14th hole. Legend has it that his caddie, a Chicago boy who doesn’t have much Korean, says: “Nice shot, Mr Yang.” Y E then replies: “Thank you, Mr Bean,” because he thinks his bagman looks like Rowan Atkinson.
'Nice’ didn’t quite cut it on Sunday.
Tiger stared and then holed his putt for birdie. He wasn’t going away, but then neither was Yang. We have seen him do this sort of thing before. Earlier this year Yang won the Honda Classic from the front. He said then that he needed to shoot two under in the final round to win, and he went out and did it.
After he won in Florida, Yang said the last four holes were longer than his entire career. Imagine how he must have felt over Hazeltine’s closing stretch with Tiger for company. It must have been like living eternity on the razor’s edge.
We wondered on the 17th green if Yang was going to be cut by the razor just when he was so close. He had two putts to take a two-stroke lead up the final hole and his dough-handed first effort came up eight feet short. He missed that, but his rescue club into the final green was a stroke of pure joy. Nice shot, Mr Yang.
Goodness knows what effect his win will have on Asian golf. We have been waiting for this for almost 40 years, ever since Mr Lu nearly won the Open. Surely the International Olympic Committee membership must now endorse golf’s inclusion in the Olympics.
Asia could become the golfing capital of the world if the equipment and ranges are made available to the kids who want to follow Mr Yang.
Over the closing two holes Tiger was dependent on the other man’s mistakes to have a chance and no champion likes to put himself in that position. This was Tiger’s missing major. He made more mistakes in the final round of this one than in the previous 14 wins put together.
All day Tiger was out with his distance control and he couldn’t buy a putt. That is the area of Tiger’s game that no longer walks the centre line of inevitability. This is the first time that he has lost a major from the front and the others may no longer believe that he is invincible.
Great as he is, Woods will be back, but what about the Europeans? Eight of them had top-10 finishes here, the sort of statistic that would have been unthinkable for most of the previous century. But in truth none of them contended over the final nine holes.
Padraig Harrington’s challenge ended amidst a flurry of shots that would not have been out of place in the Sunday hacker’s handicap challenge. A shot behind the leader when he came to the par-3 eighth hole, Harrington walked into what is known as a snowman in golf – a quintuple bogey 8. He finished with a 78 for joint 10th place on level par 288.
Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood were the highest home finishers, their closing rounds of 70 earning a tie for third. Their day will surely come, but Sunday belonged to Mr Yang.
The South Korean finished with a birdie and stepped off the razor’s edge into eternity.
HOW THEY FINISHED
Par 288 (4x72)
280 Y E Yang (Kor) 73 70 67 70
283 Tiger Woods 67 70 71 75
285 Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 71 73 71 70, Lee Westwood (Eng) 70 72 73 70
286 Lucas Glover 71 70 71 74
287 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 70 73 70 74, Ernie Els (Rsa) 75 68 70 74, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 73 70 71 73, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 73 71 68 75
288 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 74 73 69 72, Dustin Johnson 72 73 73 70, Graeme McDowell (NIrl) 70 75 71 72, Zach Johnson 74 73 70 71, John Merrick 72 72 74 70, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 68 73 69 78
289 Hunter Mahan 69 75 74 71, Vijay Singh (Fij) 69 72 75 73, Tim Clark (Rsa) 76 68 71 74
290 Michael Allen 74 71 72 73, Ross Fisher (Eng) 73 68 73 76, Oliver Wilson (Eng) 74 72 72 72, Corey Pavin 73 71 71 75, Ian Poulter (Eng) 72 70 76 72
291 Scott McCarron 75 72 71 73, Brendan Jones (Aus) 71 70 73 77, Ben Curtis 73 72 73 73, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 69 76 69 77, John Rollins 73 73 68 77, Robert Allenby (Aus) 69 75 75 72, K J Choi (Kor) 73 72 73 73, Stephen Ames (Can) 74 71 70 76
292 Jeff Overton 72 74 75 71, Steve Flesch 74 73 69 76, Kevin Sutherland 73 72 74 73, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 70 77 73 72
293 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 75 73 71 74, Soren Hansen (Den) 72 76 74 71, David Toms 69 75 72 77, Boo Weekley 74 74 71 74, Woody Austin 73 73 73 74, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 70 76 73 74, Fred Couples 74 74 73 72
294 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 76 70 72 76, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 71 73 78 72, Kenny Perry 74 70 78 72, Kevin Na 73 75 71 75, Chad Campbell 74 73 73 74, Ben Crane 70 75 72 77, Rich Beem 71 76 75 72, Luke Donald (Eng) 71 77 73 73
295 Anthony Kim 73 74 71 77, Michael Sim (Sco) 73 75 76 71, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 77 71 70 77, Camilo Villegas (Col) 73 73 76 73, Thomas Levet (Fra) 72 75 76 72
296 Charlie Wi (Kor) 72 76 75 73, Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn) 74 74 76 72, Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn) 71 74 73 78, Bob Tway 72 76 74 74
297 Richard Green (Aus) 75 73 74 75, Tom Lehman 72 74 76 75, John Mallinger 73 71 76 77
298 Nathan Green (Aus) 72 75 76 75, J J Henry 72 73 80 73, Jim Furyk 73 75 73 77, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 76 70 76 76
299 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 74 73 74 78, Justin Leonard 73 75 73 78, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 74 70 78 77, David Smail (Nzl) 75 73 75 76, Paul Goydos 70 78 78 73, Stewart Cink 73 73 72 81
300 Phil Mickelson 74 74 76 76
301 Greg Bisconti 75 72 78 76
302 Sean O'Hair 74 73 82 73
303 Grant Sturgeon 73 71 80 79, Chris Wood (Eng) 74 73 77 79, Bob Estes 74 74 77 78
305 Alastair Forsyth (Sco) 73 75 75 82
Labels: US PGA TOUR, US PRO TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Monday, August 17, 2009
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