This past weekend was the 91st PGA Championship, which featured the best in golf. It's not surprising that Tiger Woods would be leading the pack by four strokes going into Saturday, but after missing several key putts, he was within reach in the final round, including by one Y.E. Yang, a Seogwipo native.
Hat tip to ROK Drop for this article published by the Associated Press:
Y.E. Yang was already 19 when he first picked up an iron at the country club where he had a low-wage job shagging golf balls. He practiced late into the night after the paying customers had gone until he became good enough to turn pro.
Now, at 37, following a stunning victory over Tiger Woods, he is the first Asian-born man to win a major golf tournament — not to mention the pride of a golf-crazy nation and the toast of a continent.
Yang's parents getting a call shortly after he won the title
Yang, known as "Son of the Wind" for his consistency even on windy days, had beaten Woods at a tournament in 2006, but never in a major.
Woods, the top player in the world, had never lost in the 14 previous majors in which he had taken a lead into the final round. Yang went into the tournament ranked 110th.
Unfazed by the gallery that trailed Woods, Yang prevailed, keeping his calm and then pumping his fist into the air when he had nailed the title, thanks in large part to a thrilling shot over a tree and onto the green from 210 yards on the 18th hole.
Yang calls himself an "average Joe" from a humble farming family from a village near Seogwipo. He says he once aspired to be a bodybuilder and dreamed of owning his own gym.
But a knee injury forced him to reconsider his bodybuilding career, and at age 19, he took a job collecting golf balls at one of Jeju's posh golf resorts.
Most South Korean golfers go through a rigorous "elite" course for aspiring pros. But Yang was already far older than the students training to becoming pro golfers, and he didn't have the money for lessons or green fees. He agreed to pick up balls as a trainee in exchange for off-hours access to the driving range and a small monthly wage, officials said.
Yang is legendary for having arrived as early as 5 a.m. to practice before the range opened and returning to hit more balls after closing time, even stringing up his own lights after dark.
Yang had played only about 100 rounds of golf by the time he left the country club for compulsory military services. When he was finished, he went to New Zealand to concentrate on golf for three months. In 1996, he turned pro — against his father's wishes.
Yang Han-joon, who grows root vegetables, pressured his son to join him in the fields. "Golf is for rich people," he recalled saying. "Why are you trying to become a golfer? Please don't do it."
Jeju, famous for its waterfalls, volcanoes, seafood and sunshine, is a popular honeymoon spot and in recent years has become a luxury golf destination. Green fees can be several hundred dollars a round...
Yang's play throughout the tournament was nothing short of amazing, I'm happy for the guy and glad that someone was finally able to beat Tiger; chalk another one up for Jeju's awesomeness.
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