Y.E. Yang Beats Tiger Woods For PGA Championship

On August 16, 2009, Y.E. Yang beats Tiger Woods out for the PGA Championship.

In one of the most stunning upsets in all of golf, Y.E. Yang -- the 110th ranked player in the world -- defeats Tiger Woods, ranked No. 1, to win the PGA Championship. The 37 year-old Yang was paired with Woods in the final round and began the day two strokes behind, but he made up ground thanks to several gutsy shots down the stretch. Woods struggled with the putter all day and finished with a three-over 75. The highlight of the final round came on the 14th hole, when Yang chipped in a 15-footer from the fringe that give him a one-stroke lead.

Going into the final hole, Woods was still trailing by a single stroke. Yang left nothing to chance and placed the ball squarely on the green, while Tiger's sailed into the rough. Woods missed his chip shot that could have tied it if Yang missed, but it didn't matter. Yang sunk his birdie shot anyway, giving him an unprecedented victory.

It was the first time that an Asian-born player won a major tournament. Yang had only started playing golf when he was 19 and had to wait to get out of the South Korean military to play it professionally. He had only just begun playing inside the United States and had won just a single event prior to the PGA Championship. Yang, whose initials stood for Yong-eun, received a congratulatory phone call from Lee Myung-bak, the president of South Korea, who was watching it live in the wee hours of the morning.

But the bigger story was with the man Yang defeated. Tiger Woods, who had been leading the tournament since day one, rarely lost on the final day when he was in the mix and had never lost when he was leading a major after three rounds (14 for 14). He had won 47 of 50 tournaments when he had a share of the 54-hole lead, including his last 36. He was Tiger Woods, the undisputed best, clutchest, most dominant golfer in history. And although he was having -- by his standards -- a rough season in his first year back from knee surgery, he had only solidified his status as the best golfer in the world by winning back-to-back golf tournaments two weeks before.

"I made absolutely nothing," said Woods, who spent much of the final round cursing himself under his breath. "I had a terrible day on the greens... I hit the ball great off the tee, hit my irons well. I did everything I needed to do except get the ball in the hole."

John Daly Wins PGA Championship

On August 11, 1991, professional golfer John Daly won the 1991 PGA Championship. 

Daly became the first rookie to win a major title since Jerry Pate won the U.S. Open in 1976.

John Daly’s win was one of the most improbable and surprising wins in golf history. Daly was the ninth and final alternate for the tournament and after Nick Price dropped out and no other alternate was able to make it, John got his opportunity. 

Although he did not play a practice round, Daly still shot a three under 69 in the opening round. He followed that up with rounds of 67, 69 and 71 to finish the tournament at 12 under par, three strokes better than runner-up Bruce Lietzke.

After his win, John Daly became an instant fan favorite. His massive drives, eccentric personality and colorful wardrobe still makes him one of the most popular players on the tour to this day.

Since then Daly has stayed a common fixture on the PGA tour. Daly has since won five PGA Tour events, three European Tour events, one Nationwide Tour event and one Asian Tour event, and has a total of 19 professional wins.

In 2004, Daly was named the PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year.

Despite his great career Daly had problems with alcoholism, drugs, and gambling.

In 2006, Daly revealed in the last chapter of his autobiography that he has had great difficulty with a gambling problem. He claims to have lost between US $50 and $60 million over the past 15 years. This includes losing $1.5 million in October 2005, after winning half that amount at the WGC-American Express tournament; most of it lost on $5,000 Las Vegas slot machines. Daly has been able to pay his gambling debts mostly through making more paid public appearances and through sponsorship opportunities.

Also in 2006, Daly launched a wine label John Daly Wines, now defunct. The mixed drink John Daly is also named after Daly, though not with his approval. On Sunday, October 26, 2008, Daly was taken into protective custody by Winston-Salem police, after he was found drunk outside a Hooters restaurant.

At the British Open on July 15, 2010, Daly said he was no longer drinking alcohol.

Woods Wins U.S. Amateur Championship

On August 27, 1995, the ninety-fifth U.S. Golf Amateur Championship is won by Tiger Woods.
Currently the World No. 1, he has been one of the highest-paid athletes in the world for several years according to Forbes.

Woods turned professional in 1996, and by April 1997 he had already won his first major, the 1997 Masters in a record-breaking performance.

He first reached the number one position in the world rankings in June 1997. Through the 2000s, Woods was the dominant force in golf, spending 264 weeks from August 1999 to September 2004 and 281 weeks from June 2005 to October 2010 as world number one. From December 2009 to early April 2010, Woods took leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after he admitted infidelity.

Several different women, through many worldwide media sources, revealed his multiple infidelities. This was followed by a loss of form, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of No. 58 in November 2011.

He snapped a career-long winless streak of 107 weeks when he captured the Chevron World Challenge in December 2011. As of August 26, 2013, Woods, is still ranked the No. 1 golfer in the world.

Woods has broken numerous golf records. He has been world number one for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks of any other golfer. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record ten times, the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times, and has the record of leading the money list in nine different seasons.

He has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any player (Jack Nicklaus leads with 18), and 79 PGA Tour events, second all time behind Sam Snead.

He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour, he currently has 106 wins.

Additionally, Woods is only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, to have achieved a career Grand Slam three times. Woods has won 17 World Golf Championships, and won at least one of those events in each of the first 11 years after they began in 1999.

In 1996 Woods was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. 10 times Woods has been named the PGA Player of the Year including five straight selections from 1999-2003. He was the PGA Tour Player of the Year 10 times, including five straight selections from 1999-2003.

Woods has led the PGA Tour in money winning nine times including four straight years from 1999-2002. He won the Vardon Trophy eight times, including five consecutive years from 1999-2003. He has won the Byron Nelson Award nine times, including five consecutive years from 1999-2003.
Woods has also won the FedEx Cup twice in 2007 and 2009.