Inspiring Golf

Yang winning the PGA Championship is far better for golf internationally than Woods losing a major is bad for golf. More fans, more young people playing the game. Doesn't diminish Tiger's legacy -- he's still the best player on the planet.

Two days ago people were stifling a huge collective yawn and wondering, to quote General Zar from Superman II, if there was anyone on the planet that could challenge Elrick the Great. Yesterday we were ragging on Elling for suggesting competition makes if interesting.

It just feels better today. Good that someone came out beat Tiger -- that there was competiiton and that, especially given Tiger's utter lack of sportmanship on the last two holes and post-game, there are other players to root for.

Here's all the typical whiners saying TIGER choked and this and that. That's why they play the 4-round tournament, everyone just automatically thinks Tiger is just going to breeze right through and win no problem. That's why the game is played, records to be broken, streaks to be ended, and plain old just excitement watching these BEST golfers from around the world. You can say Tiger is the #1 ranked golfer in the world. But he just got beat by another guy who just straight up out played him. Tiger didn't make the shots when it really counted. Great tourney to watch though that's for sure.

And Yang deserves the result. Playing with Tiger can never be called easy. Having that many spectators, cameras, hecklers. Having the lead for the last few holes, knowing that he has to play well on out to close the deal is HUGE pressure, and he handled it supremely well, stuck that approach on 18, BEFORE Tiger took his approach shot that went in the spinach. Yang could've played to the middle of the green, he didn't have to take that dangerous line, over a huge tree, with very little green on the left of the pin. That was one INCREDIBLE shot under pressure shows how much fortitude Yang has.

All in all, todays result is the best thing for golf!