the underdog everyone thought that he would be.
“He (Yang) is a very good ball striker,
very solid, and he doesn’t pay much
attention to whomever he plays with. He
won’t be intimidated. He will just go about
his business,” analyzed Harrington, who fell
from contention last year at Hazeltine with
an 8 on the par- 3 eighth hole in the final
round. “I’m not saying he can stay up with
Tiger, but he won’t beat himself.”
Indeed, while Woods was authoring a
forgettable 75 in the final round at
Hazeltine due to a putter he was forced to
employ 33 times, Yang was solid, if not
spectacular, en route to a closing 70 and a
startling three-shot victory.
With five holes to play in the final
round, Woods didn’t seem threatened by
Yang, although the two were dead even on
the leaderboard. With his distance off the
tee, Woods looked to capitalize on the
driveable, 301-yard, par- 4 14th hole.
Neither combatant seemed to have an
advantage when Woods hit driver into a
greenside bunker and Yang came up short
of the green. But when Woods’ bunker shot
rolled to within seven feet, Yang figured he
needed to produce some magic.
Total
280 283 285 285 286 287 287 287 287 288 288 288 288 288 288
A final-round 70 allowed Lee Westwood to finish in a tie for third, his second top-three finish in majors in 2009.
THE OFFICIAL PROGRAM OF THE 2010 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP 51