Y, E, L, L, everybody yell, GO YANG GO!

Okay, yes I was a cheerleader as a teenager and yes the original ending was "GO BUFFALOES GO!", but I couldn't think of anything else fitting for this post!

For a reason my father still can't figure out, he receives a weekly subscription to Sports Illustrated and every week after he finishes reading it, it ends up at our house for my husband to read. This is not a magazine I normally read or usually even slightly interested in! But I've had some extra time on my hands since our four year gave up his bobo (pacifier) recently and most nights he requires one of us to stay by his bedside till he falls asleep. I was reading one from last month, with an article about Y.E. Yang, a South Korean, winning the PGA against Tiger Woods. Now, I love Tiger Woods just like the rest of you, but I watched this tournament on TV with my family that Sunday, August 16, and I must say, that it was a great thing to watch! Y.E. Yang is "the first Asian male to win a grand slam event"!

The article read,"Yang's victory completes one of golf's most unlikely journeys. He grew up working on his family's vegetable and rice farm on the island of Jeju. In his teens Yang was an aspiring bodybuilder whose grandest dream was to someday own his own gym. A knee injury at 18 ended his heavy-duty weightlifting, and he found his way to a local driving range, where he giddily whacked balls into a net with a baseball grip. Self-taught with instructional videos, Yang was breaking par within three years but his development was slowed when he served almost two years of compulsory military service. By 1997, Yang had earned a place on the small-potatoes Korean PGA tour, and over the years he steadily moved up to the Asian and then Japanenes tours. Heading to Hazeltine he had nine worldwide wins across four tours, including the PGA Tour's Honda Classic in March. Still, there was nothing to hint at the breakthrought that was to come at the PGA."

I must admit, that a huge sense of pride overcame me with his win. To see what this man had accomplished against odds that were greatly against him and watch him rise to the top, beating one of, if not the greatest golfer in history. And though I have lived in the US nearly all my life and am a proud US citizen, I have a great love and appreciation for my country of birth and any ties to it. What a wonderful triumph for he and his family and all his hard work and dedication. It just proves that if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish anything you want to in life.

The article concludes,

"In the clubhouse, Yang had been ushered into a private ceremony with Hazeltine members and various tournament dignitaries. Yang is not the champion this crowd had been looking forward to greeting but the polite applause grew louder as he acknowledged the clapping with four long, courtly bows. After lustily downing a flute of champagne alongside his teary-eyed wife, Yang addressed his audience. Tapping his heart, the new champ said, "This has been the best day of my life.'"