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HAVEN, WIS. - To most American golf fans, Y.E. Yang last August became the latest Rich Beem, a surprise, one-off major champion who stared down Tiger Woods over the closing holes at Hazeltine National and celebrated in a fashion sure to be remembered but probably never to be repeated.
Yang birdied the 18th hole while Woods bogeyed it, giving Yang a three-shot victory that made him the least likely PGA champion since Beem in 2002 and Shaun Micheel in 2003.
Where Beem offered a silly dance on the 18th, Yang clean-and-jerked his golf bag, a reminder that he began his athletic career as a weightlifter and didn't pick up golf until, at 19, he started working at a sawed-off driving range in South Korea.
In Minnesota, Yang's victory in the PGA Championship became a cute, quaint story. In South Korea, as the first Asian man to win a major, he became Instant Elvis.
"When I went back to my hometown in Jeju Island, for safety reasons, I had about six bodyguards that were assigned to me," he said through an interpreter. "And as we were in my hometown, I was walking up front and the bodyguards kind of couldn't catch up, couldn't follow.
"So I was kind of trying to figure out what was going on. And it turns out all their jackets and suits were all ripped up because there were so many fans that wanted to get my autograph. I mean, no one was hurt during the process, but it was kind of funny to see those big bodyguards and their clothes getting ripped up like that. That was interesting."
Interesting, yes, but you'd have to have your golf visor yanked over your eyes to think it was unusual.
With Woods' dominance in remission, we've seen eight different players win the last eight majors -- and none of them is named Eldrick.
In five of the past six majors, a player has won his first major -- Louis Oosthuizen at this year's British Open, Graeme McDowell at the U.S. Open, Yang, Stewart Cink at last year's British and Lucas Glover at last year's U.S. Open.
Yang's victory trumped the others in terms of drama, though. He overtook Woods while playing alongside him on a Sunday afternoon, and did so while ranked 110th in the world. Where Woods was raised to play golf and has captivated America since his appearance on "The Mike Douglas Show," Yang was raised by a farmer and was less recognizable than a lot of caddies until the weekend.
"The past year, there's been a lot of changes in my life, but it's been a good experience," he said. "And this week I'm happy to be back for the tournament. I'm kind of sorry that it's not Hazeltine, but I'm happy to be at Whistling Straits.
"It's a quite difficult course, but I'm happy to be back."
Asked why he mentioned Hazeltine without prompting, Yang said: "I mentioned that I wish it was Hazeltine just because I'm quite fond of the course. You know, I had some good memories there."
At 8:20 a.m., at the 10th tee, Yang will relive a few of those. He's grouped with Woods for the first two rounds, along with Vijay Singh, who won the PGA at Whistling Straits in 2004.
Even if he never wins again, Yang will remember his return to South Korea with the Wanamaker Trophy. He had already received a congratulatory call from the South Korean president, and when he landed in his country at 4 a.m., he found fans and reporters crowding the concourse.
Wednesday, as he spoke at a news conference, there were about as many reporters in the room as he had bodyguards upon his return to Jeju Island.
"It's been a year since my PGA win, so maybe I'm kind of out of the spotlight a little bit," he said. "And for the past year, I haven't been doing that great, and maybe people think that I may not win this one again.
"But I'm trying to focus. I kind of figure the reporters that are not here today probably are busy someplace else."
No matter. Yang had already brought a South Korean flavor to the PGA. At the champions' dinner on Tuesday night, Yang, with guidance from his country's First Lady, served popular dishes from his homeland, including bulgogi (marinated barbecued beef) and doenjang jjigae (bean paste vegetable stew).
If Wisconsinite Steve Stricker had won at Hazeltine last year, the champions would have had to settle for brats.
Jim Souhan can be heard at 10-noon Sunday on AM-1500. His Twitter name is SouhanStrib. • jsouhan@startribune.com
