Yang Yong-eun

Yang Yong-eun 양용은
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name	Yang Yong-eun
Nickname	The Tiger Killer
Born	(1972-01-15) 15 January 1972 Sindo-ri, Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo-si Jeju-do, South Korea
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	88 kg (194 lb; 13.9 st)
Nationality	South Korea
Residence	Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Career
Turned professional	1996
Current tour(s)	European Tour
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Japan Golf Tour Asian Tour
Professional wins	11
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	2
European Tour	3
Japan Golf Tour	5
Asian Tour	2
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	T8: 2010
U.S. Open	T3: 2011
The Open Championship	T16: 2011
PGA Championship	Won: 2009

Korean name
Hangul	양용은
Hanja	梁容銀
Revised Romanization	Yang Yong-eun
McCune–Reischauer	Yang Yongŭn

This is a Korean name; the family name is Yang.

Yang Yong-eun (Korean: 양용은, pronounced [jaŋ joŋ ɯn]; born 15 January 1972), or Y. E. Yang, is a South Korean professional golfer currently playing on the PGA Tour, where he has won twice, including most notably the 2009 PGA Championship where he came from behind to defeat Tiger Woods. He is the only Asian-born man to have won a major championship.

Professional career

In 2006 he won the Korea Open, an Asian Tour event, gaining him entry into the HSBC Champions Tournament in November 2006. He won the tournament, beating a strong field including runner-up Tiger Woods. The victory earned him membership of the European Tour and moved him into the top 40 of the Official World Golf Ranking. In 2008 he played on the PGA Tour after earning his card through qualifying school; he had to regain his tour card in 2009 after placing 157th on the money list in 2008. Yang won his first title on the PGA Tour at the 2009 Honda Classic in his 46th career start in the United States. With this win, he became only the second Korean after K. J. Choi to win on the PGA Tour.

On 16 August 2009, Yang won the 91st PGA Championship, his first major championship, overcoming a two-shot deficit going into the final round to finish three strokes ahead of Woods, his playing partner.^[1] The victory was the first major championship for a male player born in Asia, surpassing the runners-up finishes achieved by Lu Liang-Huan in the 1971 Open Championship, Isao Aoki in the 1980 U.S. Open and Chen Tze-chung in the 1985 U.S. Open. The previous best finish by a Korean was Choi's 3rd place in the 2004 Masters Tournament. It was also the first time that Woods had failed to win a major after holding at least a share of the lead at the end of 54 holes.^[2] Yang was ranked 110th worldwide prior to the tournament, but moved up to 34th after the victory.^[3] The win earned Yang a five-year PGA Tour exemption and helped him to a top ten finish overall on the PGA Tour.

In April 2010, Yang won the Volvo China Open with a one-under-par 71 final round.^[4]

In February 2011, Yang had his best run at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship reaching the quarter-finals before eventually succumbing to American Matt Kuchar, 2 & 1. Previously Yang had defeated Álvaro Quirós on the 20th hole in round one, Stewart Cink, 4 & 3, in round two and the 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell in round three, 3 & 2.

The following week Yang was in contention for his 3rd PGA Tour title at The Honda Classic, an event where he had earned his inaugural PGA Tour win in 2009. Despite entering the final round five strokes behind the eventual winner Rory Sabbatini, he was able to close the gap to just one stroke by birdieing the par-three 15th, where he was 18 inches away from a hole in one. However, needing an eagle on the par-five 18th after Sabbatini had stretched his lead to two with a birdie on the par-four 16th, he was unable to hole his bunker shot and a birdie earned him a runner-up finish one stroke behind the winner.

Yang reached a career high OWGR ranking of 19th in 2010, but a string of bad finishes and missed cuts in 2013 and 2014 plummeted the former major winner to 638th at the end of 2014, the final year of his PGA Tour exemption after winning the 2009 PGA Championship. A poor 2014 saw Yang finish well outside the top 150 in the FedEx Cup, which limits him to the Past Champions category for 2015. Yang spent much of 2015 playing on the European Tour and Asian Tour. 2015 saw a resurgence for Yang, making the cut at the PGA Championship for the first time in multiple years. Yang moved up to 262nd in the world by November 2015.

Personal life

Yang was born in the island province of Jeju-do. He is the fourth of eight children. He started to play golf at the age of 19 while picking golf balls part-time and, later, working as a golf instructor at Jeju's Ora Country Club. Yang learned by watching the movements of players who visited his golf club. Although he now has teaching coaches, Yang is a self-taught golfer.^[5] His brother recommended he try hitting balls at a local driving range. Trying to get a 'proper job', Yang fell down a flight of stairs and tore his ACL^[6] while he was learning to use an excavator for a construction company.^[7] After recovering from his knee injury, he began mandatory service in the South Korean military at the age of 21.

On conclusion of his service, he moved to New Zealand, where he pursued a professional career in golf. He turned semi-pro on 21 July 1995 and pro on 22 August 1996. Yang is married to Young-Joo Park and has three sons. He is an active owner of an indoor golf range in the Koreatown section of Dallas.^[8] He currently resides in Southlake, Texas, near fellow South Korean PGA player K. J. Choi.^[8]

Professional wins (11)

PGA Tour wins (2)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	8 Mar 2009	Honda Classic	−9 (68-65-70-68=271)	1 stroke	John Rollins
2	16 Aug 2009	PGA Championship	−8 (73-70-67-70=280)	3 strokes	Tiger Woods

European Tour wins (3)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other European Tour (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	12 Nov 2006 (2007 season)	HSBC Champions (co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour)	−14 (66-72-67-69=274)	2 strokes	Tiger Woods
2	16 Aug 2009	PGA Championship	−8 (73-70-67-70=280)	3 strokes	Tiger Woods
3	18 Apr 2010	Volvo China Open	−15 (68-66-68-71=273)	2 strokes	Rhys Davies, Stephen Dodd

Japan Golf Tour wins (5)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other Japan Tour (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	8 Aug 2004	Sun Chlorella Classic	−13 (67-70-69-69=275)	3 strokes	David Smail, Yeh Wei-tze
2	7 Nov 2004	Asahi-Ryokuken Yomiuri Memorial	−17 (69-78-69-65=271)	2 strokes	Shingo Katayama
3	9 Oct 2005	Coca-Cola Tokai Classic	−18 (66-72-65-67=270)	4 strokes	Taichi Teshima
4	10 Sep 2006	Suntory Open	−14 (67-68-68-63=266)	6 strokes	Hidemasa Hoshino, Toru Taniguchi
5	16 Aug 2009	PGA Championship	−8 (73-70-67-70=280)	3 strokes	Tiger Woods

Asian Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	24 Sep 2006	Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open	−14 (65-67-68-70=270)	3 strokes	Kang Ji-man
2	12 Nov 2006	HSBC Champions (co-sanctioned with the European Tour)	−14 (66-72-67-69=274)	2 strokes	Tiger Woods

OneAsia Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	18 Apr 2010	Volvo China Open (co-sanctioned with the European Tour)	−15 (68-66-68-71=273)	2 strokes	Rhys Davies, Stephen Dodd
2	10 Oct 2010	Kolon Korea Open	−4 (74-71-69-66=280)	2 strokes	Choi Ho-sung, Kim Bi-o

Korean Tour wins (3)

2002 SBS Championship
2006 Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open (co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour)
2010 Kolon Korea Open (co-sanctioned with the OneAsia Tour)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2009	PGA Championship	2 shot deficit	−8 (73-70-67-70=280)	3 strokes	Tiger Woods

Results timeline

Tournament	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	T30	DNP	CUT	T8	T20	T57	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	T3	CUT	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	T60	T16	CUT	T32	CUT	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T47	DNP	CUT	DNP	1	CUT	T69	T36	CUT	CUT	T48	CUT

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	1	2	7	4
U.S. Open	0	1	1	1	1	6	1
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	1	7	3
PGA Championship	1	0	1	1	1	10	5
Totals	1	1	2	3	5	30	13

Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (2011 Masters – 2012 Masters)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2009 PGA – 2010 Masters)

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Accenture Match Play Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	R64	DNP	DNP	R32	QF	R32
Cadillac Championship	64	DNP	DNP	T65	DNP	74	T30	T39	59
Bridgestone Invitational	DNP	DNP	DNP	T56	DNP	T19	T46	T53	T36
HSBC Champions	–	–	–	–	–	T33	T51	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

Professional

Royal Trophy (representing Asia): 2007, 2012 (winners)
Presidents Cup (International team): 2009, 2011
World Cup (representing South Korea): 2009

References

↑ Dorman, Larry (16 August 2009). "Y. E. Yang Shocks Woods to Win at P.G.A.". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
↑ "Yang catches Woods for USPGA win". BBC Sport. 16 August 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
↑ Week 33 – Yang Yong-Eun (Y E Yang) Becomes The First Asian Player To Win A Major Championship With Victory At The 91st PGA Championship
↑ "Yang eases the pressure with victory". The Irish Times. The Irish Times Limited. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
↑ Associated Press (17 August 2009). "Yang's life changed forever with win over Tiger". NBC Sports. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
↑ Lerner, Rich (17 August 2009). "What's Next for Y.E. Yang?". The Golf Channel. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
↑ "PGA Championship, 'Wild' Woods". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 17 August 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
1 2 Bill Nichols (8 April 2010). "Since historic win, Korean golfer finds balance with family in Southlake, at Dallas driving range". Dallas Morning News.

External links

Yang Yong-eun at the Japan Golf Tour official site
Yang Yong-eun at the PGA Tour official site
Yang Yong-eun at the European Tour official site
Yang Yong-eun at the Official World Golf Ranking official site

PGA Championship champions

Match play era	1916 Jim Barnes 1917–18 Cancelled due to World War I 1919 Jim Barnes 1920 Jock Hutchison 1921 Walter Hagen 1922 Gene Sarazen 1923 Gene Sarazen 1924 Walter Hagen 1925 Walter Hagen 1926 Walter Hagen 1927 Walter Hagen 1928 Leo Diegel 1929 Leo Diegel 1930 Tommy Armour 1931 Tom Creavy 1932 Olin Dutra 1933 Gene Sarazen 1934 Paul Runyan 1935 Johnny Revolta 1936 Denny Shute 1937 Denny Shute 1938 Paul Runyan 1939 Henry Picard 1940 Byron Nelson 1941 Vic Ghezzi 1942 Sam Snead 1943 Cancelled due to World War II 1944 Bob Hamilton 1945 Byron Nelson 1946 Ben Hogan 1947 Jim Ferrier 1948 Ben Hogan 1949 Sam Snead 1950 Chandler Harper 1951 Sam Snead 1952 Jim Turnesa 1953 Walter Burkemo 1954 Chick Harbert 1955 Doug Ford 1956 Jack Burke, Jr. 1957 Lionel Hebert

Stroke play era	1958 Dow Finsterwald 1959 Bob Rosburg 1960 Jay Hebert 1961 Jerry Barber† 1962 Gary Player 1963 Jack Nicklaus 1964‡ Bobby Nichols 1965 Dave Marr 1966 Al Geiberger 1967 Don January† 1968 Julius Boros 1969‡ Raymond Floyd 1970 Dave Stockton 1971 Jack Nicklaus 1972 Gary Player 1973 Jack Nicklaus 1974 Lee Trevino 1975 Jack Nicklaus 1976 Dave Stockton 1977 Lanny Wadkins† 1978 John Mahaffey† 1979 David Graham† 1980 Jack Nicklaus 1981 Larry Nelson 1982‡ Raymond Floyd 1983‡ Hal Sutton 1984 Lee Trevino 1985 Hubert Green 1986 Bob Tway 1987 Larry Nelson† 1988 Jeff Sluman 1989 Payne Stewart 1990 Wayne Grady 1991 John Daly 1992 Nick Price 1993 Paul Azinger† 1994 Nick Price 1995 Steve Elkington† 1996 Mark Brooks† 1997 Davis Love III 1998 Vijay Singh 1999 Tiger Woods 2000‡ Tiger Woods† 2001 David Toms 2002 Rich Beem 2003 Shaun Micheel 2004 Vijay Singh† 2005 Phil Mickelson 2006 Tiger Woods 2007 Tiger Woods 2008 Pádraig Harrington 2009 Y. E. Yang 2010 Martin Kaymer† 2011 Keegan Bradley† 2012 Rory McIlroy 2013 Jason Dufner 2014 Rory McIlroy 2015 Jason Day 2016 Jimmy Walker

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire

International Presidents Cup team – 2009

Robert Allenby Ángel Cabrera Tim Clark Ernie Els Retief Goosen Ryo Ishikawa Geoff Ogilvy Adam Scott Vijay Singh Camilo Villegas Mike Weir Yang Yong-eun Greg Norman (non-playing captain)

Lost: 14.5 – 19.5

International Presidents Cup team – 2011

Robert Allenby Aaron Baddeley K. J. Choi Jason Day Ernie Els Retief Goosen Ryo Ishikawa Kim Kyung-tae Geoff Ogilvy Charl Schwartzel Adam Scott Yang Yong-eun Greg Norman (non-playing captain)

Lost: 15 – 19

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