Newsday (N.Y.): Old Man Lehman gets a hole-in-one

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- In a game that suddenly seems dominated by 20-somethings such as Nick Watney, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, there's room for 51-year-old Tom Lehman.

Lehman, who qualified for this 92nd PGA Championship by winning the Senior PGA, made a hole-in-one during the third round Saturday at the 223-yard 17th hole with a 4-iron. He shot a 1-over-par 73 and is at 1-over 217 for 54 holes.

When the PGA Championship was held previously at Whistling Straits in 2004, Hale Irwin, also a senior, and Robert Gamez had aces.

19th hole

Y.E. Yang won the tournament last year at Hazeltine, beating Tiger Woods head to head. But Yang, who didn't get his second round completed until Saturday morning, finished with a double-bogey 6 and a 76. His two-round 148 total missed the cut by three shots . . .

Martin Kaymer of Germany, now based in Scottsdale, Ariz., after coming from the European Tour, is tied for fourth at 207 and no less importantly has retained his PGA Tour eligibility for 2011. "That was my plan,'' said Kaymer, who had a 5-under 67 in the third round. "I'm excited to play here next year.'' . . .

The weather forecast for the final round is good after the possibility of a brief rain overnight . . . Chris Wood of England shot a 68 in the second round after a 78 in the first round, but he still missed the cut of 145 by a stroke . . . When someone told 21-year-old McIlroy of Northern Ireland that he seemed immune to pressure, McIlroy, tied for second heading into the fourth round, said, "I wouldn't say it's a stroll in the park, but the crowds are so far back from the fairways, you don't feel the atmosphere, which I suppose helps a little bit.'' . . . Dustin Johnson, in contention for a third straight major this year, said of Whistling Straits: "The course is intimidating off the tee, but you do have some room to maneuver the ball and get it in the fairway.''

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Newsday: Tiger by tale par for Chevron tourney course

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The year that was in golf (a U.S. Open at Bethpage, 59-year-old Tom Watson nearly winning the British Open) comes to a close Sunday with what might be called the week that wasn't. Or, depending on viewpoints, the week that shouldn't have been.

Tiger Woods' annual tournament, the $7.5-million Chevron World Challenge, had everything to do with scandal, headlines, confessions and outrage, but because of the accident that kept Woods from playing but didn't keep the world from prying, it had very little to do with golf.

Woods, of course, was involved in that car accident at 2:25 on the morning of Nov. 27 in front of his home in the gated Florida community of Isleworth, outside Orlando.

That led to questions - where was he going at 2:25 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving. Admissions of sexual dalliances by several women. Disbelief from those who idolize Woods and then an acknowledgment by Woods on his Web site that he is guilty of "transgressions."

Even Saturday the gossip and rumors continued -- a report from Orlando that Woods lost several teeth when he was hit in the mouth, either by a golf club swung by angry wife Elin Nordegren or in the crash, and that a fourth woman was involved with Woods.

"It's been a little weird," said Steve Stricker of this Chevron, a tournament that benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. "I was really looking forward to this event, and all the things that were going on brought me down . . . I think we're tired of hearing about it. I was flipping the channels, and I mean even Nancy Grace is discussing it."

Stricker, who partnered Woods in the four-ball and foursomes of the recent Presidents Cup matches in San Francisco, understands why.

"We've built him up to such a person,'' he said, "and shame on us for thinking that's really what it's all about."

The 54-hole lead of the Chevron, at Sherwood Country Club about 40 miles west of Los Angeles, is shared by Graeme McDowell and Y.E. Yang at 10-under-par 206, with Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington at 9-under 207.

Yang, of Korea, is the one who beat Woods down the stretch in the PGA Championship in August at Hazeltine. McDowell, from Northern Ireland, was the last player in the field, invited to fill the void after Woods announced he was "unable to play."

En route to Orlando, where he lives, from the World Cup in China, McDowell was going through Los Angeles and was notified he would be invited. He stayed and played.

"I woke up Saturday morning [in China], put on the laptop to see what was going on . . . Tiger had been in a car accident,'' he said. "The shock and the scandal and everything made for some interesting reading.

"Typical locker-room chatter on Sunday. Probably disbelief more than anything, and obviously the rumor mill was working overtime on the weekend. Will we ever know what really happened? . . . I mean, it's been front-page news all over the world. He is that big."

The January issue of Golf Digest magazine has a computer photo cover of Woods, as caddie, lining up a putt for Barack Obama, the ultimate in bad timing.

The 2010 PGA Tour begins in a month, Jan. 7 in Kapalua, Hawaii. Tiger, if he's recovered from the injuries, probably will start at the San Diego Invitational Jan. 28.

"It will be interesting to see how he handles this," Kenny Perry told The Associated Press. "This is a totally different knock on him when he gets out there and plays next year."

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Copyright © 2009 Newsday. All rights reserved.

SF Examiner: Tiger shows he’s human at PGA

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

SAN FRANCISCO — Rocky Marciano was the exception. A heavyweight champ who never never lost a fight. Retired without a blemish. For a while there, we thought Tiger Woods was similarly perfect. We should have known better.

That’s the thing about sports, no matter what sort of competition. The favorites — the 49ers of the 1980s, the Yankees of the 1960s, the Lakers of the 2000s — usually win. But not always. And sometimes when they lose, we’re in disbelief.

As when Mike Tyson fell to Buster Douglas. Or when Dennis Eckersley gave up that home run in the bottom of the ninth in the first game of the ’88 World Series to a limping Kirk Gibson. Or when Ben Hogan was beaten by a driving range pro named Jack Fleck in the 1955 U.S. Open at San Francisco’s Olympic Club.

Or when Tiger Woods was stunned on Sunday by a Korean named Y.E. (for Yong-Eun) Yang in the PGA Championship back in Minnesota.

We love the underdog, except in golf and tennis. The world was right when Arnie and Jack were champions, when McEnroe and Connors were winners. Nor was it so bad around here when the Niners were picking up Super Bowl trophies.

But change is inevitable. Surprise is inevitable. No way 37-year-old Y.E. Yang could beat Tiger. Until he beat him. Then golf became just that much more intriguing.

There’s something called the Presidents Cup coming to Harding Park in October. It’s like the Ryder Cup, except instead of facing a European-British squad, the Americans meet an international team, players from Australia and South Africa and South America and, yes, Korea.

It isn’t the PGA or the Masters, it isn’t a major, but the Presidents Cup will give us Tiger-Yang, redux. We can only hope they play at least one match against each other, singles preferably.

You know this by now, Yang, who didn’t start playing golf until 19, just smacking balls on one of those multideck driving ranges in Seoul, is the first Asian male to win a major. Korea’s going mad, as well it should.

Now it has its own entry in the game’s pantheon. Hagen, Hogan, Y.E. Yang. Great play is not the exclusive possession of any nation.

A tough year for the Stanford guys. Tom Watson, at age 59, comes within a shot of winning the British Open. Tiger Woods, at age 33, holds or shares the lead for four days of the season’s last major and gets beat.

It was stunning. Yet it was overdue. If not this tournament, then some major. The gods of sport eventually make their presence known.

Nobody’s won three Super Bowls in succession, and yes in the mind’s eye we still cringe as Roger Craig fumbles Steve Young’s handoff in the 1990 NFC playoffs.

Something goes wrong. Or for the other side goes right. Favorites lose, underdogs win. Y.E. Yang was as big an underdog as we might imagine, which made the win all the more unbelievable. And captivating.

It may never happen again, but once was enough. We thought that like death and taxes, Tiger Woods with a lead in the final round of a major was a sure thing. We should have known better.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/Spander-Tiger-shows-hes-human-at-PGA-53632862.html
Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company 

RealClearSports: Tiger Leaves Us in Disbelief

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

No, we didn't believe it. Even if we watched it unfold. It was fantasy strangling reality, the impossible becoming actuality. It was Tiger Woods losing a major golf tournament.

We wanted someone to step up and challenge Tiger, wanted somebody not to melt in his presence. We thought it might be Padraig Harrington, who had three majors of his own. Or in his fading glory, Ernie Els. Instead it turned out to be a Korean named Y.E. (for Yong-Eun) Yang.

Only the day before, Harrington was saying the fans wanted someone to challenge Tiger, "to make it a battle.'' Not to beat him, but to make it interesting. This 91st PGA Championship at Hazeltine National, on the prairieland west of Minneapolis, got very interesting.

Then it got out of hand. Then it got ridiculous. Then it got head-shockingly bizarre and unprecedented.

Fourteen times before, Tiger Woods had led a major golf championship into the final round, and 14 times Tiger had won. So why wouldn't it be 15 out of 15, especially since he had led from Thursday's first round? Especially since he was paired with Yang, which everyone believed meant Yang would fold. Isn't Tiger the great intimidator?

What he wasn't on Sunday was the great putter. Took 33 putts, did Mr. Woods. Shot 5-over par 75. Went from a two-shot lead to a three-shot deficit, as Yang had a 70 for a 72-hole score of 8-under 280. Went a year without a major victory for the first time in 2009.

But he didn't go without proving what a sportsman he is, what a gentleman he is.

You can tell more about a person by the way he acts after a defeat than after a victory. It's easy to be charming, responsive, when you're holding the trophy, when they're giving you the accolades. But an individual unveils himself when he or she doesn't win.

Tiger is painfully protective. His post-match remarks intentionally are bland, even boring. If you don't say anything in particular, he believes, than nobody can misquote you or misinterpret you. So keep it simple and uncontroversial.

But Woods pulled the mask away just a bit. He was disappointed. He had to be. We thought he would win. He thought he would win. Didn't he always win before?

"Today,'' conceded Woods, "was not very good at all. I had a few misreads on putts, and I hit some bad putts too. It was a bad day at the wrong time, and that's the way it goes.''

There's a saying about golf, that it's like a love affair. That if you don't take it seriously it's no fun, and if you do it can break your heart. If Tiger's heart isn't broken, his armor of vulnerability certainly is.

Nobody's perfect. Except Tiger Woods had been with a lead the final day of a major golf championship. Now the perfection is wiped away.

"All the other 14 major championships I've won I've putted well for the entire week,'' he said. "Today was a day that didn't happen. I didn't win. I hit the ball well enough. I didn't make any putts.''

When asked whether he lost this PGA or the 27-year-old Yang won it, Woods said, "It's both. I certainly was in control. And Y.E. played great all day.''

That's the beauty of sport. There's always the unexpected. There's always a Y.E. Yang or a soccer team from Cameroon or a rookie pitcher who steps up and makes us take notice.

No Asian ever had won a major golf championship. Until Yang. Tiger Woods never had lost a major golf championship when he led after 54 holes. Until Yang.

"I don't think anyone has gone 14 for 14 or 15 for 15,'' said Woods when asked if losing was inevitable. "So I've certainly . . . like today I played well enough to win.''

Strange things happen in sports. Outfielders drop easy fly balls. That's why athletes always stay wary. It isn't over, we -- and they -- have been told, until it's over. So don't get feeling too cocky.

Tiger led the PGA from the 15th hole the first round. On Saturday, the media kept trying to get him to admit the tournament was over, that he had it locked up. Woods kept evading the question, kept insisting that he had to play to the end.

He was right. We were wrong. We thought Tiger Woods would always come in first. He always did. Until at last he didn't. We didn't believe it could happen, but we believe it now.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/08/16/tiger_leaves_us_in_disbelief_96452.html
© RealClearSports 2009

Newsday: Yang wins PGA Championship after Tiger blows lead

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

CHASKA, Minn. -- Niagara Falls didn't run uphill. The sun didn't set in the East. But Tiger Woods did lose a major golf championship, which may not be much different.

The virtually impossible became the very undeniable when Woods for the first time in his remarkable career gave away a third-round lead in a major and Sunday came in second at the 91st PGA to a deliriously excited Korean, Y.E. (Yong-Eun) Yang.

On this day of seismic shifts in golf, the 37-year-old Yang, who immediately after the final putt hoisted not a trophy but his entire golf bag like a man lifting barbells, became the first Asian to win a major.

And Tiger had perfection and dominance swept away as his record of winning all 14 times he had the lead after 54 holes in a major was gone with the wind that swept across Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Woods started the day with a two-shot lead over Yang, his playing partner, and Padraig Harrington, and everyone in the massive gallery just knew Tiger would do what he always does: win. But he didn't.

Yang took the lead by chipping in for an eagle 2 on the 301-yard 14th hole, and then embellished his round with a fist-pumping birdie at 18, moments before Tiger would close with a bogey.

Yang, going mano-a-mano with the man acclaimed by many as the greatest player of all time, shot 2-under-par 70 to Tiger's 3-over 75. Yang ended up at 8-under 280, Woods at 283.

Lee Westwood, who had the same spot in last month's British Open, tied for third with 20-year-old Rory McIlroy at 285, and Lucas Glover, who in June at Bethpage won the U.S. Open, came in fifth at 286. Harrington, who killed his chances with a quintuple-bogey 8 on the par-3 eighth, shot 78 for 288 and fell into a tie for 10th.

"I was certainly in control of the tournament for most of the day," Woods agreed. "But I just couldn't make anything today. I hit the ball great off the tee, hit my irons well. I did everything I needed to do except getting the ball in the hole."

His 33 putts were the most in any of the four rounds.

Only once previously in his career had he not won when leading by two shots or more, and that was nine years ago.

Asked if he thought he had lost or Yang had won, Woods responded: "It's both. I was playing well. I was making nothing, but still either tied for the lead or ahead. And Y.E. played great all day. I don't think he missed a shot. And it was a fun battle. Unfortunately, I just didn't make the putts when I needed them."

Thus for the first time since 2004, Woods has gone through a year without winning a major. The last time the PGA was held at Hazeltine, in the western suburbs of Minneapolis, 2002, Tiger also finished second, by a shot.

Someone wondered if this day was inevitable. The undefeated Patriots were upset in the Super Bowl. Mariano Rivera occasionally blows saves. The longer you win, the greater the odds you will lose.

"I don't think anyone has gone 14-for-14 or 15-for-15," Woods said. "I played well enough to win the championship. I did not putt well enough to win the championship."

Asked about an Asian breaking through in a major, Woods, who among others was beaten by Yang in the HSBC at Shanghai in November 2007, said, "You knew it was going to happen one day." His guess would have been K.J. Choi, another Korean, who like Yang plays the PGA Tour.

Woods' opponents on the final day of majors often are intimidated. Yang said he was. He didn't show it.

"He's always been a wonderful ball-striker," Woods said of Yang, who earlier this year won the Honda Classic. "The only thing that's held him back is the flat stick [putter]. Today, he went out there and executed his game plan. He was doing exactly what you have to do in these blustery conditions. I thought if I shot under par, I would win the tournament."

Which he would have. Except he shot over par. Woods didn't make any putts, but he did make history.

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