Yong-Eun Yang or Y.E. Yang for short, went head to head against Tiger Woods and won the 91st PGA Championship at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minnesota on Sunday, August 16. Yang finished -8 with a total score of 280. Woods, his closest competitor, posted a -5 283 that earned him a disappointing second place finish in the tournament.
Yang started going to a local driving range in Korea at age 19 on a friend’s advice. He spent time in the Korean military at age 21 and traveled to New Zealand to pursue a golf career after his mandatory year and a half of military service.
The South Korean 37-year-old turned pro in 2004 and has played 61 career events–making 39 cuts. His breakthrough play occurred in 2008, when he earned $461,726 on the money list. In 2009 his FedExCup standing went from 145th to 21st. Prior to the PGA Championship, he had amassed $1,870,941 in 2009.
His previous best finish was a win at The Honda Classic this year.
A defining moment in play today was Yang making eagle on the 16th hole – see video below.
View another photo and video below.
Eagle at 16
Win video and Tiger reaction