I realize we have become so accustomed to Tiger Woods winning golf tournaments--especially ones in which he is leading on Sunday--that when he actually fails to close it out, it's so easy to assume that Tiger lost as opposed to him getting beat. Sunday, he got beat. Plain and simple.
It seems as though sports fans, as well as sports media, love to throw out the word "choke" anytime a player or team of high profile loses--particularly in upset fashion. Do some people really get more satisfaction out of someone losing versus someone excelling?
I'm sorry, but I just don't roll like that. I love a good story, and Y.E. Yang may be the best story of this golf season. Tiger didn't give him the PGA Championship. Yang took it!
On a day when only 10 players broke par, Yang shot the best score of the day. Down the stretch of a major championship, Yang went eagle, par, par, bogey, birdie. Under the most immense pressure of the tournament, Yang brushed that pressure off his shoulders like a pimp in a vice squad raid. The playa made plays.
As far as Tiger choking goes, child please! He shot 75 in the final round, not 82. It wasn't like he was spraying the ball all over the course, he just didn't make any putts.
"I hit the ball great off the tee, hit my irons well," said Tiger. "I did everything I needed to do except for getting the ball in the hole."
So ease up on the choke talk when discussing this year's PGA Championship. Greg Norman choked in the 1996 Masters. Jean van de Velde choked at the 1999 Open Championship. Phil Mickelson choked at the 2006 U.S. Open.
Tiger didn't choke at the 2009 PGA Championship. He simply got Yanged!
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