Can everyone in the media please stop using Yang’s last name as a play on words? If I see one more headline referring to “ying/yang,” I’ll vomit. Not only is it annoying, but I have to imagine that it’s slightly insulting to Asian people. If Ernie Els had come from behind to win today, would the headlines have said “Ernie makes Tiger take second place, and nothing Els?” If Dustin Johnson had won, would the headline have read “Dustin wins and makes Tiger suck his Johnson?” Granted, neither of those examples are funny (or appropriate), but you get the idea.
But getting back to the actual tournament…is it the greatest upset ever? Probably not. I don’t have any specific examples of better upsets, and I do believe that Y.E. Yang should be part of the conversation, but I don’t really feel like Tiger got upset. I actually lost count of all the putts Tiger had on Sunday that “burned” the edge of the cup. We’ve never seen it happen before, but even Tiger Woods isn’t invincible. Everyone (from hacks to pros) has those days where you’re playing well but nothing will go in the hole! We’ve just formed the assumption that Tiger couldn’t have one of those days in the final round of a major.
I hate to sound like I’m diminishing Yang’s play, because I’m not. His spot as champion was cemented with the incredible approach shot he hit on 18. Yang deserved to win. I’m just saying that this was not the single greatest upset ever. Instead, we should all be focusing on how much this could potentially grow the game of golf across the world, and hopefully Yang will not be a “one hit wonder” like so many previous PGA Champions. But did Tiger Woods choke? Hardly.