Golf is
Going Global
Y.E. Yang’s
victory at the
2009 PGA
Championship
placed an
exclamation
point on the
game’s growth
worldwide
THE AIRPORT IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, USUALLY IS A QUIET place at
4 a.m. There’s not much activity occurring in the middle of the night. But one night was different last August. Y.E. Yang was returning home from the United States.
By Ed Sherman
Y.E. Yang’s historic win at the
2009 PGA Championship
made him the first Asian-born
male to win a major.
In his hand, he had a replica of the
Wanamaker Trophy he won by stunning
Tiger Woods and the golf world during the
final round to win the 2009 PGA
Championship at Hazeltine National Golf
Club in Chaska, Minn. The victory
triggered a huge celebration in Yang’s home
country of South Korea. It was the reason
why the airport was buzzing with media
before dawn.
“I’ve won in my career a few times in
Japan and in Europe, also in The Honda
Classic on the PGA Tour, but I’ve never had
that kind of reception as I did on my first
visit after my PGA win,” Yang recalls. “All
the reporters were there, and it was
4 in the
morning. Just by that reaction I knew that
it was something big.”
Just how big? PGA of America Chief
Executive Officer Joe Steranka calls Yang’s
title the singular most famous victory in
golf for Asia.
“It reverberated throughout that region
of the world,” Steranka says.
Indeed, by becoming the first men’s
player from Asia to win a major, Yang
dramatically showed that golf more than
ever truly is a global game. All parts of the
world are producing high-caliber players who
are excelling on the world’s premier stages.
Just look at the winners of recent majors
besides Yang: Graeme McDowell of
Northern Ireland won the 2010 U.S. Open;
Padraig Harrington of Ireland won the 2008
PGA Championship, plus the 2007 and
2008 Open Championships; Angel Cabrera
of Argentina won the 2007 U.S. Open and
the 2009 Masters; Trevor Immelman of
South Africa won the 2008 Masters.
The world rankings also tell the story.
Going into this year’s U.S. Open, there were
six international players in the top
10, and
33 in the top
50. By comparison, prior to
the 2000 U.S. Open, there were
22
international players in the top
50.
The dramatic shift could also be seen at
last year’s PGA Championship. The field
included a record
66 international players
representing
29 countries, including Italy,
Thailand, Colombia, India, Sweden and
Japan.
In recent years, The PGA of America
reduced the number of PGA Professionals
in the field (currently
20) in order make
room for the international players.
“The PGA of America felt the rest of the
world was catching up with us,” Steranka
explains. “If we were going to be true to our
mission of inviting the best players in the
world, we needed those additional spots. It
wasn’t a popular decision with the club
professionals we serve, but we thought it
THE PGA OF AMERICA
46 THE OFFICIAL PROGRAM OF THE 2010 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
