91st PGA Championship recap, By Dennis M. Stanfield
We're down the stretch of a Major Championship. Tiger Woods is in the final group... What else is new? But the end result would be new. Or at least not seen in a long long time. It seemed, at the 91st PGA Championship, Tiger was the one affected by "the Tiger factor."Y.E. Yang played the role of Tiger on Sunday, August 16, 2009. Hanging around and in the clutch making a move. Then in the most pressure packed moment, the 72nd hole of a Major, Yang closes it out with a birdie. Tiger won the previous 2 tournaments and was playing well. It showed the 1st two days. Woods separated him self from the field shooting a combined 7 under par Thursday and Friday. The weekend was a different story. Saturday, the wind made conditions tough. Players were loosing strokes by the hole, but Tiger managed to stay on top. Even though Woods played Saturday like a Sunday he managed to make a birdie on the 14th hole to finish -1 on the day and 8 under for the tourney. By Saturday evening, the groups were set. Many were looking for a Woods v Harrington 2, but Paddy faltered and Y.E. Yang took advantage to get in the final group. The 37-year-old Yang admitted he was nervous and couldn't sleep the night before, but was excited for the opportunity. Tiger didn't look like Tiger from the start and Yang was just hanging around. The back 9 was where the noise was made. Tiger lost strokes and ended up losing the lead to Yang. On the 12th hole Yang blasted out of the sand and saved par while Tiger missed another putt and made bogey. Tiger later said, "I made absolutely nothing." Both players pared the par 3 13th and the short par 4 14th was next. While Tiger had a birdie putt, Yang was on the fringe chipping for eagle. The unlikely happen and Yang chipped in for a 2. About the chip in Yang said, "I tried to chip it, just to get it as close as possible, but somehow, fortunately, actually it went in." Tiger was now down 2 stokes, but he calmly regrouped and made his birdie putt to stay one down. The players came to the par 3 17th looking to gain an advantage, but both players made bogey and Tiger missed another putt. Both players tee shots were in the fairway on 18 but Yang would play first. Woods was on the right side of the fairway with a great look at the green. Yang was on the left and had a cluster of trees in his path. Tournament on the line and nerves of steel, Yang pulled out a 3-hybrid. His shot skied over the trees and landed as soft as a wedge, 8 feet from the hole. Bang! Now there was a little pressure on Tiger (even though later he said this was "fun"). Tiger was looking to bring out his old magic. His shot was right on line towards the flag, but was too long and ended in the rough leaving a tough chip. Everyone could feel it. Tiger was going to lose. And to make sure, Yang knocked in his 8 footer for birdie, while Tiger made another bogey. Tiger finished +3 on Sunday and it stopped his streak of Major wins. He was 14 of 14 when he had the lead in the final round. After when asked if he lost it or Yang won it. Woods responded, "Its both." Woods didn't make the putts when he needed and Yang took advantage with an eagle and birdie. "And Y.E. played great all day... And it was a fun battle. Unfortunately, I just didn't make the putts when I needed to make them." Woods said.Tiger hasn't always played perfect but found ways to win and players have folded in his presence. But finally someone, Yang, took this one and didn't fold. Taking nothing from Yang, let's put this in prospective. Tiger came off of major knee surgery early in the year and that meant swing change. He won 5 tournaments, each tourney before a major but couldn't grab a major. Regularly this would be an average year, but coming off of knee surgery made this a up and down year, but a good year. In no means does this mean Tiger Woods reign on top is over. Tiger is only 33 and just reaching the prime of his career. He's tasted defeat for the first time in a long time. Watch out...Dennis M. Stanfield
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