Officials were scrambling to find an interpreter Sunday afternoon after Y.E. Yang sank a short putt to win the Ascension Charity Classic on the first playoff hole over Bernhard Langer.
His wife was on hand, ready to take on the task, but the native of South Korea followed his first PGA Tour Champions win with a solo interview, his first victory on U.S. soil since beating Tiger Woods for the PGA Championship in 2009.
After tying for third and finishing second the previous two years at Norwood Hills Country Club, Yang lost his lead on the 18th hole only to sink a birdie putt on the playoff hole after a Langer miss.
“This week has been very special,†Yang said. “For two years, I played good. It was a little stress and a little fun. A mix. (I was) nervous, but everything came out.â€
Yang had rounds of 65, 69 and 66. He was playing in his 72nd event on the tour, having previously finished second twice and third on three occasions.
His need for extended English was minimal until he had won. Caddie Chris Brown, who has worked with Yang for about 35 tournaments over the past year and a half, said the two don’t need to have long conversations.
They first worked together during the Senior PGA Championship in 2023 and have developed a good working relationship that gets the job done.
“We communicate just fine,†Brown said. “Our English is good enough on the course, and it’s never long sentences. Just words here and there. I’ve been around him long enough and know what his quirks are and the way he says things.â€
Yang lives with his wife, Mi Jin Kim, in Honolulu and they spend the golf season in Atlanta.
His biggest moment in professional golf came in 2009 when he held off Woods, who never had lost a major tournament that he led after 54 holes. The competition at Norwood Hills included some PGA veterans also.
The leaders in the final group included Yang, Langer and Stewart Cink, who have a combined 14 PGA wins along with four victories in majors.
The result came down to the final hole with Yang leading Langer and Cink by one shot. When Cink put a shot in the sand, his day was over. Langer has the most wins in the history of the PGA Tour Champions and was looking for No. 48 when he sank a 15-footer for a birdie to force the playoff.
Langer putted first on the playoff hole with a position nearly identical to the one he had just made, but he missed by a hair.
Yang and Brown sized up a slightly shorter putt. Yang waved for some bystanders and photographers in the background to kneel. Then he calmly sank his shot. Yang reiterated what he previously said about Norwood Hills being a comfortable course.
“I’m happy to play this course,†he said. “This course is very hilly and compares to Korea, where many courses are hilly. Here, I have a feeling that’s very similar, maybe like a home course.â€
The fluctuation of leaders on the final day ended briefly after 14 holes, leaving the trio of golfers tied for the lead with dwindling room for error.
Yang got some separation on No. 17 when Langer hit his second shot under a grandstand and Cink landed in the rough. Still, Cink had a 10-footer on the hole that would have kept him even with Yang, but the ball spun out.
Yang missed some putts on the back nine that would have made his job easier, but he made the ones that counted to collect a check for $315,000.
“I just stood away and didn’t want to make things any more nerve-racking,†Brown said. “If he needed me I was right there.â€
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Y.E. Yang raises his hands in celebration after sinking a playoff putt to win the Ascension Charity Classic on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, at Norwood Hills Country Club, in Jennings.
Y.E. Yang chips a ball out of the sand trap on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, during the Ascension Charity Classic at Norwood Hills Country Club, in Jennings. He won the tourney title in a playoff against Lander Bernhard.