YONHAP NEWS

(LEAD) Rags to riches tale stuns S. Korea as former ball boy takes PGA title

SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- A poverty-stricken boy who used to make a living by doing menial work at a golf practice range stunned the world's golf community on Monday (Korean time) by winning the honored PGA Championship to become the first Asian male golfer to win a major title.

Yang Yong-eun's dramatic come-from-behind victory against the world's number one Tiger Woods in the PGA Championship thrilled South Korean golf fans and citizens who are accustomed to their female compatriots' multiple wins of major LPGA titles.

Yang, 37, born to a poor farming family on the country's southern resort island of Jeju in 1972, had his first contact with golf as a ball boy after graduating from a local high school. He picked up the balls at a golf range on the island where many golf courses and clubs are frequented by tourists.

   At his father's request, he was hired by a construction company as an heavy machine driver but quit soon due to a knee injury.

   After undergoing mandatory military service, Yang worked for another big golf club as a handyman and learned movements and shots secondhand from visiting professional golfers. He worked by day and trained at night hoping to become a professional golfer in defiance of his father's persistent demand that he be a farmer.

   In his Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) debut in 1997, he won the Rookie of the Year award, but could not seize a title in that year.

   In 2002, Yang, known as a "son of the wind" as he has shown strong performances in windy conditions, finally lifted the winner's trophy at an SBS tournament for the first time in his six-year KPGA career, winning prize money of 150 million won (US$120,000), after years of financial hardship.

   He was not satisfied with the success in South Korea and a win in Japan where he seized four titles and finished 10 at the annual money leader list in 2005.

   His debut on the world stage was also a showstopper. Yang won the HSBC Championship of the European tour in 2006, stopping Tiger Woods' seven streak victory. His victory was written off as a fluke as he had failed to yield impressive results in the PGA tour for years.

   Failing to stay at the PGA tour due to a protracted slump in his performance in 2007 and 2008, he managed to pass the qualifying test for the 2009 season.

   Opening the season with the Honda Classic trophy in March, his decade-long challenge culminated in capturing the PGA Championship title, leaving 14-time major winner Woods empty-handed of a major tournament title this year. Yang will take home $1.35 million in prize money.

   Known as the No. 2 man after his compatriot Choi Kyung-joo, who has won seven PGA tour events, Yang now becomes the first Asian male golfer and South Korean to stand at the top of the leaderboard at one of the four major competitions -- the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship -- at the age of 37.

   Choi finished third at the 2004 Masters, which had been the highest ranking a South Korean player had taken in a major PGA event.

   "I tried to master the art of controlling my emotions throughout the small wins I had in my career," said Yang after the game. "I think it turned out quite well today."

   brk@yna.co.kr
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