Few players can say they went head-to-head with Tiger Woods and won.
The greatest golfer of all time, Tiger Woods, was nearly unbeatable during his prime. Whenever he was in contention, he almost always won, and if he led going into the final day, then you might as well have called the tournament there.
Over the course of his career, Woods has a 44–2 record when holding the outright lead. That helped him tie Sam Snead’s record of 82 PGA Tour victories.
And in majors, Woods is 14–1 when going into the final round with at least a share of the lead. The one man who defeated him did so on his way to his only major championship win, which saw him earn the nickname “Tiger Killer”.
The only player to beat Tiger Woods at a major after he held a 54-hole lead
Yang Yong-eun, better known as Y.E. Yang, made history at the 2009 PGA Championship by going head-to-head with Woods in the final group and winning. In doing so, he became the only player to beat Woods at a major after he held the lead going into Sunday.
Playing at Hazeltine National, Woods led by two strokes over Padraig Harrington and Yang. But that was reduced from four strokes, which was his lead going into the weekend. Shockingly, Yang and Harrington were hunting Woods down.
And with Woods struggling on the greens throughout Sunday, the door was wide open. Harrington made a quintuple-bogey on the par-three eighth hole, so it was up to Yang to slay the Tiger.
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Tied on the short 14th, Yang chipped in for an eagle, giving him the lead which he would not relinquish. A closing bogey from Woods meant Yang went on to win by a prolific three strokes. He became the first Asian-born male to win a major championship.
Yang had only just regained his PGA Tour card that year, and took his first victory on the tour just months before the PGA Championship. It was an upset for the ages, and after defeating Woods and lifting the Wannamaker Trophy, Yang wouldn’t win another major.
But the Korean is now remembered as the “Tiger Killer”, and remains the only man to snatch the victory from Tiger’s jaws on the final day of a major.
Why Yang Yong-eun was disqualified from the 2021 PGA Championship
12 years on from his historic PGA Championship victory, Yang suffered an entirely different fate at the same event. He was disqualified from the 2021 major event.
At 49 years old, Yang was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard after his second round at Kiawah Island Golf Resort. He signed for a four on the par-four 10th hole, when he actually made a bogey five, according to the PGA of America.
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He returned his scorecard and left the scoring area, leading to his disqualification. Ultimately, this had no impact on the event, as Yang was set to miss the cut anyway after shooting 75 and 84.
Still, this would not have been the way Yang would have wanted to end his tournament, at an event which made him famous.
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