Tiger Woods lost the PGA Championship Sunday to Korean golfer Y.E. Yang, someone so obscure that when I first read the news on my cellphone my mind read it as “P.F. Chang.”
How improbable was Yang’s win? Woods had been 14-0 in majors after leading after three rounds. He had won his last 36 tournaments after leading after three rounds. Yang’s previous high ranking in a major had been 30th and he had one PGA tour win (to Woods’ 70). Woods blamed his putting for his improbable final-round 75 that sunk his chances.
So, golf fans, does this rank as the greatest upset in history, given the circumstances? Had Woods lost to Mickelson or Harrington, it would have seemed more understandable.
on Aug 17th, 2009 at 8:40 AM
Stunner? Definitely. Greatest upset in sports? No. Look at the major tournament winners in golf this year. None of the winners were ranked in the top 30 at the time. Its an individual sport in which if someone can get on a hot streak during a major they can win it. Tiger’s putting killed him.
Some will say he lost it Saturday by not stretching his lead considering the way others were going low. But, he was still ahead or tied late on Sunday. The chip eagle by Yang late on the back 9 sealed it…amazing shot…amazing win and I think great for the sport. Kudos to someone who finally stood up and went to to toe with Tiger and didn’t collapse. Tiger Woods lost, but so did the rest of the field to this “unknown”. Tiger will be fine. He didn’t choke. He’s still the best golfer in the world. He’ll still catch and surpass Nicklaus’ 18. If anything, this loss may make him even better considering how disappointed I’m sure he is. The record had to come to an end eventually, and it least now he doesn’t have to deal with the stat of “Tiger has never lost a major either tied or leading after 54 holes”
on Aug 17th, 2009 at 10:43 AM
How often do we see this? Tiger blowing lead on sunday. Maybe he played too conservative?
on Aug 17th, 2009 at 11:09 AM
He played very conservatively on Saturday, assuming his 4-shot lead would be “good enough” to hold up. Except for one golfer, it was.
His putting was terrible and his approach shots were just as bad.
This was a surprising result, but “greatest upset in history”? It’s so hard to call anything in golf an upset because all it takes is one guy to have one great round at the right time and he wins.
on Aug 17th, 2009 at 11:18 AM
When Yang steals one of Tiger’s product endorsements, that will be an upset.
on Aug 17th, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Major upset? Maybe! Maybe it is just shocking that he choked for once. Always glad to see him not do well (#2 is not too shabby) because he truly is one of the most conceited athletes out there. When Yang won, Tiger jsut went on with his business because he was so mad at himself. Thats a child!
Obviously, I do not like Tiger Woods. Ever since he refused to waste a shot at Pebble Beach in 2000 in recognition of Payne Stewart. Everyone else did!
on Aug 17th, 2009 at 12:16 PM
I meant greatest upset in golf history, not in all of sports. Seems that if an unknown beats a guy who was 14-0 in majors after leading after 3 rounds that this is pretty historic.
Here is how big it was: An Irish bookmaker PAID OFF all Tiger winning bets after ROUND TWO:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2009/08/17/bookmaker-loses-1-5m-euros-after-tiger-woods-uspga-collapse-86908-21603186/
on Aug 17th, 2009 at 2:53 PM
Yeah, it was a huge upset, but in hindsight (which, granted, is always conveniently more clear), it shouldn’t have been as shocking as it is. Yang didn’t even pick up a club until he was 19 – he’s now 37 – and in the last two years he beat Woods in China, he played in his first US tour event, and he won the Honda.
I’d never seen him play before yesterday because the cameras usually only follow Asian players – did they even show a single shot by Thongchai Jaidee, who was in the top 10 at the start of the final round? – if they’re paired with a marquee player. But Yang’s demeanor was as solid as any I’ve seen. The man had nerves of steel, only noticeably getting the best of him on a putt on the 17th green. And his drives were every bit as straight and for the most part as long as Tiger’s, and Tiger said he (Tiger) had a very good ball striking day, even for him.
It’s a shock now, but Yang seems like he’ll be around as long as he physically holds up, so we might look back on this as more of a coming out party rather than a one-hit wonder. It’s a huge boost for Asia; hopefully younger players like Ryo Ishikawa (the youngest player ever to make the PGA championship cut) will start getting a little reflection off Yang’s halo.
on Aug 17th, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Yes this is a major upset but I don’t see it as the biggest golf upset of all time. Yang had won previously (Honda) and was in top 25 in the last 4 tournaments he played. Here are some other contenders:
Fleck over Hogan in 1955 US Open. Fleck’s first win while Hogan very dominate in those years.
Hillary Lunke vs. Anna S. 2003 Women’s Open – Hillary hasn’t been heard from since and obviously Anna was as dominate as Tiger.
1913 US Open local boy Quimet beats the Ray & Vardon from GB to launch US golf.
on Aug 17th, 2009 at 5:50 PM
kjmarker has hit the biggest ones. Until an amateur junior golfer or college player takes down Woods in a major championship, Francis Ouimet will have the greatest upset in golf. This year’s PGA was certainly a shocking result because of the opponent, but Yang was not the world’s biggest underdog. Shaun Micheel comes to mind as having never a won PGA Tour event before winning his first major, like Yang, after stuffing an approach shot on the last hole. Yang also beat Tiger head to head at the 2006 HSBC. Not that I gave him much of a chance…
on Aug 18th, 2009 at 4:56 AM
Tiger Woods always brings in the fans.
on Aug 18th, 2009 at 5:00 AM
Its great to see Tiger lose. He has made golf so damn boring, Tiger this, Tiger that. It was great when he was out with a bum kneee and we got to see some other win for change.
on Aug 18th, 2009 at 2:14 PM
Ummm yeah…he’s made golf so boring huh? Well apparently the ratings tell a different story because when he was out, tournament ratings were nowhere near they were when he was in. Tiger had a bad day…simple as that. Already the pundits are talking about him having a difficult offseason and how it will now be a different era of Tiger Woods. All histrionic drama queens. Tiger is fine and will be back in the winners circle many times again.
on Aug 18th, 2009 at 7:38 PM
If it wasn’t a choke, it was pretty close. There were 40+ golfers with better rounds on Sunday than Tiger. His final two rounds were 71-75 while the winner shot 67-70. Down one with just the approach left on the 18th green, his opponent in a difficult position and Tiger in the middle of the fairway, he plopped it in the right rough (where right handed golfers always “bail”) and then watched as Chang hit the nearly perfect shot.
Face it. If Phil had played this way on the last day, everyone, EVERYONE, would have said he choked.
That said, Tiger is still one of the greatest to play the game and will continue to dominate golf for years to come. This just shows two things to me. 1) He’s human and won’t win every time (but will still win many more times). 2) People (mostly broadcasters) will contort into all sorts of shapes just to avoid speaking badly about Tiger.