Y.E. Yang will now be known by all as Mr. 49
If you talk to any golf fan about Al Geiberger, you'll hear the story of how he became the first person to post a sub-60 round on the PGA Tour. His nickname will be, and should forever be, Mr. 59 for the accomplishment back in 1977.
Sadly, our 2009 PGA Championship winner, the man that successfully took down Tiger Woods in a major, will be now known as Mr. 49, but for a reason that didn't include a ton of double-circles on the scorecard.
Y.E. Yang shot a back-nine 49 on Friday at Pebble Beach after a front-nine 34 that moved him to one-over for the championship, well within reach of a second major. Yang's back-nine was the stuff of legends, but whatever you'd call the opposite of a legend.
He bogeyed the 10th, made triple on 11, carded back-to-back bogeys on 12 and 13, made triple on 14, a double-bogey on 15 and then bogeys on 16 and 17. The lone par on the 18th was his only non-square, and for some reason, it shows that even the best golfers in the world can have moments when they just can't seem to find the exit sign on the bogey train.
What made it even worse? Yang was playing with Phil Mickelson, who was carding a nice little 66, and Padraig Harrington, who mentioned after the round that he was "glad it wasn't me."
The eventual 83 was good enough for a missed cut and a lot of embarrassment.
