FoxPerez
08-17-2009, 03:42 PM
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It looks better with pictures anyway.
A Trivial Pursuit
We have our answer.
We knew this day would come. Maybe not so soon, while Tiger is in his prime and on a hot streak, but we knew it would come. Who would be the first player to overtake Tiger in a major when he led going into the final round?
Y. E. Yang.
What's amazing about Yang isn't the circumstances surrounding that final round like how Tiger had won more majors than he'd even played in, but the round itself.
First of all, Yang had to play in that final group with Tiger. Padraig Harrington was initially given the advantage because he was playing in the group ahead, yet he collapsed anyways. Other players that had bested Tiger in a major didn't have to play with him. The two examples that come to mind are Zach Johnson at the 2007 Masters and Rich Beem in 2002 at Hazeltine.
Ironically, it was an eagle that helped clinch Beem's only major at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine. And once again, it was another unlikely eagle that sealed Tiger's fate on the same golf course.
Again, the circumstances of the round were incredible. The golf course was playing particularly tough. Nobody shot better than 70 on Sunday. And aside from the final group, nobody that shot par or better was a contender with a chance to win.
The final group was alone on an island. And with both players keeping their drives in the fairways and their approaches on the greens, it would come down to who could putt the best...
Or rather, who could avoid the most three-putts.
And that's where we come back to the oddity of Yang's final round. He only made one big putt the entire day: a birdie at the 3rd to pull within a stroke of Tiger. He had a share of the lead after Tiger bogeyed the 4th, but Tiger pulled back into the lead after Yang bogeyed the 5th. Because Tiger was also struggling with his putter, Yang's slew of eight consecutive pars was enough to hang with the best player in the world.
And then came the 14th hole.
Tiger was poised to take the lead and maybe start to pull away, sitting pretty with the best birdie chance he's had all day, while Yang would have to chip from off the green for his 2nd shot after driving the hole. Yang would have to keep it close. He hadn't putt well and had to keep the pressure on Tiger.
He buried the shot to go from being tied for the lead to leading by two strokes! All of a sudden all the pressure was on Tiger. It was a big moment because Tiger finally made a putt he needed, finally made birdie, and yet he was now one back. Instead of a fist pump and a brisk walk to the 15th, he walked with his head down in disbelief. Never was a man so depressed about a birdie.
While the score changed, Yang's game really hadn't. He still had yet to make a big putt. With chances to put Tiger away, he failed, most notably on the 17th when he left a birdie putt woefully short and matched Tiger's bogey to stay just one ahead.
At the 18th Tiger looked like he would get his chance to pull even and possibly win, when he put his drive in perfect position for an approach while Yang would have to navigate around a tree.
Once again, Yang stole the moment, hooking his shot around the tree and onto the green with perfection. A birdie chance for the championship.
Tiger was stunned once again, missing the green on his approach. As the two walked up to the 18th green, everyone knew what was about to happen, but still couldn't believe it. Tiger made his bogey and Yang made birdie for the win, and for an immortal place in history books and trivia buffs.
Meanwhile, I still can't get over how he did it. He made one pressure putt all day, but it was early and had little meaning. Sure he made birdie at the 18th, but he could've two-putted for the win. But then again, maybe it needed to happen this way. The conventional allowed Tiger to stay perfect when leading a major heading into the final round. I guess someone needed to try something new.
I believe my father summed it up best, though: "He might never win again. But he took down Tiger."
It looks better with pictures anyway.
A Trivial Pursuit
We have our answer.
We knew this day would come. Maybe not so soon, while Tiger is in his prime and on a hot streak, but we knew it would come. Who would be the first player to overtake Tiger in a major when he led going into the final round?
Y. E. Yang.
What's amazing about Yang isn't the circumstances surrounding that final round like how Tiger had won more majors than he'd even played in, but the round itself.
First of all, Yang had to play in that final group with Tiger. Padraig Harrington was initially given the advantage because he was playing in the group ahead, yet he collapsed anyways. Other players that had bested Tiger in a major didn't have to play with him. The two examples that come to mind are Zach Johnson at the 2007 Masters and Rich Beem in 2002 at Hazeltine.
Ironically, it was an eagle that helped clinch Beem's only major at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine. And once again, it was another unlikely eagle that sealed Tiger's fate on the same golf course.
Again, the circumstances of the round were incredible. The golf course was playing particularly tough. Nobody shot better than 70 on Sunday. And aside from the final group, nobody that shot par or better was a contender with a chance to win.
The final group was alone on an island. And with both players keeping their drives in the fairways and their approaches on the greens, it would come down to who could putt the best...
Or rather, who could avoid the most three-putts.
And that's where we come back to the oddity of Yang's final round. He only made one big putt the entire day: a birdie at the 3rd to pull within a stroke of Tiger. He had a share of the lead after Tiger bogeyed the 4th, but Tiger pulled back into the lead after Yang bogeyed the 5th. Because Tiger was also struggling with his putter, Yang's slew of eight consecutive pars was enough to hang with the best player in the world.
And then came the 14th hole.
Tiger was poised to take the lead and maybe start to pull away, sitting pretty with the best birdie chance he's had all day, while Yang would have to chip from off the green for his 2nd shot after driving the hole. Yang would have to keep it close. He hadn't putt well and had to keep the pressure on Tiger.
He buried the shot to go from being tied for the lead to leading by two strokes! All of a sudden all the pressure was on Tiger. It was a big moment because Tiger finally made a putt he needed, finally made birdie, and yet he was now one back. Instead of a fist pump and a brisk walk to the 15th, he walked with his head down in disbelief. Never was a man so depressed about a birdie.
While the score changed, Yang's game really hadn't. He still had yet to make a big putt. With chances to put Tiger away, he failed, most notably on the 17th when he left a birdie putt woefully short and matched Tiger's bogey to stay just one ahead.
At the 18th Tiger looked like he would get his chance to pull even and possibly win, when he put his drive in perfect position for an approach while Yang would have to navigate around a tree.
Once again, Yang stole the moment, hooking his shot around the tree and onto the green with perfection. A birdie chance for the championship.
Tiger was stunned once again, missing the green on his approach. As the two walked up to the 18th green, everyone knew what was about to happen, but still couldn't believe it. Tiger made his bogey and Yang made birdie for the win, and for an immortal place in history books and trivia buffs.
Meanwhile, I still can't get over how he did it. He made one pressure putt all day, but it was early and had little meaning. Sure he made birdie at the 18th, but he could've two-putted for the win. But then again, maybe it needed to happen this way. The conventional allowed Tiger to stay perfect when leading a major heading into the final round. I guess someone needed to try something new.
I believe my father summed it up best, though: "He might never win again. But he took down Tiger."