2009 PGA Championship Final Round Live Blog

We’re live blogging the final round of the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club. Tiger Woods is poised to win a record-typing fifth PGA Championship (and his third consecutive) and his fifteenth major – each of which he’s previously won with the third-round lead as he has this year.

Will major winners Padraig Harrington (two back at -6) or Lucas Glover (four back at -4) win the title, or will Y.E. Yang or Henrik Stenson capture their first? Could someone from -3 or further possibly go low enough to win, or is this a five-horse race? Let’s put it this way: if Tiger shoots 70, Paddy and Y.E. have to shoot 67 to win, and G. Lover and Stenson have shoot 65. 67 is the lowest round of the week – and it’s only been shot by two people. They’re both playing in the final group.

Pos   Player                Tot     R1    R2    R3
---   ------------------    ---     --    --    --
1     Tiger Woods           -8      67    70    71
T2    Padraig Harrington    -6      68    73    69
T2    Y.E. Yang             -6      73    70    67
T4    Lucas Glover          -4      71    70    71
T4    Henrik Stenson        -4      73    71    68
T6    Ernie Els             -3      75    68    70
T6    Soren Kjeldsen        -3      70    73    70
T8    Ross Fisher           -2      73    68    73
T8    Brendan Jones         -2      71    70    73
T8    Martin Kaymer         -2      73    70    71
T8    John Rollins          -2      73    73    68
T8    Alvaro Quiros         -2      69    76    69

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13:53:30: TBS’s early coverage is about to come to an end. We saw Tiger arrive with his spikes already on and immediately head to the putting green, then to the range. We saw Paddy putting on a jacket. We saw some of the long, thick rough that awaits the players today – along with some softer, more receptive greens.

Can Tiger become the fourth player to win the PGA Championship wire to wire? The first player ever to win a major in five consecutive years (no, Jack never did it)? Can Tiger edge closer to Jack with 15 majors? We’ll find out in a little under an hour.

14:05:45: First live shot is Zach Johnson – one of my picks to finish in the top ten, getting to -1. Close. My other pick – Steve Stricker – didn’t make the cut.

14:09:49: Vijay Singh is looking at the hole when he putts today. It helped him drain a long birdie putt on the first hole. He misses here but the putt had good pace. Faldo hasn’t noticed the change – IBF noticed right away on TNT earlier.

14:13:41: 20 rounds complete, Michael Sim with the only one under par – at 71. Doesn’t bode well for those chasing Tiger. Admittedly, as Nantz points out, these aren’t the players playing great, but they did make the cut.

14:16:23: Lundquist tells us the wind is “really benign” today. Cut to a shot at one with the flag starched and the 100-year-old trees swaying. Huh?

14:19:02: Ernie takes 3W off the first tee. I don’t see Ernie winning today – he’s turned into a bit of a gagger, particularly with the putter. Playing with Quiros should be fun though.

14:23:25: Rather than show golf, we see vignettes of players, famous Tiger shots, and other garbage. Clue to CBS – the golf tournament doesn’t start at 2:45. That’s just Tiger’s tee time.

14:27:22: Lucas Glover and Soren Kjeldsen tee off. Both find the fairway. Faldo and Nantz notice that Vijay is looking at the hole when he putts as he makes a huge bomb on the sixth to get to -2. John Merrick leaves a putt a millimeter short and we see the sidestamp: he’s using a four-year-old Pro V1x. Two days ago a judge overturned Callaway’s small “win” in their battle against Acushnet (Titleist) and demanded a new trial, citing what amounts to rather large logical inconsistencies.

14:34:21: G. Lover to 15 feet at the first. For a moment it looked stone dead. Els, having saved par from the bunker at the first, with a 3W again on the second finds the fairway just fine. Paddy does his double-club-with-headcovers swinging move to loosen up.

14:42:51: Padraig leaves himself 30 feet at the first. Tiger walks onto the tee. Yang is, predictably, already there. Stenson’s shot is rejected in a fashion similar to G. Lover’s.

14:44:41: Tiger’s driving accuracy will be key today. If he finds the fairways, he can play to the fat sides of every green and plod around near even par until someone starts to apply a little pressure – if they can at all.

14:45:58: Tiger takes 3W off the first tee, twirls the club, and finds the right side of the fairway. The ball hops into the first intermediate or “step” cut of rough. Maybe Tiger’s ball won’t stop short of hopping up close to the flag. Yang, also with a 3W, finds the fairway four yards back of Tiger.

14:47:33: Paddy comes up short at the first. Par. Apparently we won’t see Stenson putt despite the fact that he’s only four back. 😛 I see CBS turning this into a forced Tiger/Paddy duel even as other players encroach on that territory. They’ll begrudgingly show some of Yang’s shots until he fades.

14:49:07: As much as I liked this dog-with-his-bone commercial the first time I saw it, I hate it now the 100,000,000th time. Mute.

14:51:15: Yang, “Tank Light” per Faldo, finds the green. Tiger has 184. Tiger is 74.07%, T2, in GIR this week. Not the cleanest of lies. The sun comes out. Tiger works a draw to six feet, just like I said – the ball didn’t get rejected back down the hill. Tiger could get to -9 before anyone else even gets a step on him.

14:53:44: Rory gets back the second of the two shots he lost with a double at the first. Els, from short of the third, wedges deep and spins it back to a good range.

14:55:36: Yang burns the edge. Billy Casper gets his due – easily a top ten golfer ever in my opinion.

14:56:33: Stevie is called in to help read the putt. It goes left to right. It slides by the left side and doesn’t move at all. Tiger stays at -8, Paddy and Yang -6. A shot lost for Tiger – Yang’s putt was closer than that.

14:58:47: Paddy comes up well short at the second. Safe play. Els leaves his birdie putt short at the third. Lame. Stenson from the Bunker misses the green, finds a bunker.

14:59:50: Rory makes another birdie. Three straight. Yawn. Big difference between finishing T12 and T2 or winning. He’s coming… just not quite this year.

15:00:31: Tiger with an iron, his play all week, at the second. Backs off. Splits the fairway, a long way back. Yang finds the fairway as well, further ahead.

15:05:56: Back from commercial, Paddy’s long putt at the second peeks in the right side but stays out. Stenson’s par putt comes up short and he falls back to -3. I don’t see a repeat of his performance at TPC Sawgrass.

15:06:44: Tiger changes to a 6I to draw it against the wind. G. Lover hits to tap-in range to -5 at the third. Back to Tiger, an 8I actually, gets a firm bounce from the fringe and leaves himself 25 feet on Paddy’s line. 186-yard 8I (but it went only 179 or so). Yang can’t get inside him from 151. We see four shots and go to commercial again. Thanks, CBS.

15:10:05: Seriously, what’s up with the Cialis bathtubs? Who does that?

15:11:47: Yang comes up short. Stays at -6. G. Lover taps in his birdie, -5 at the fifth. It’s at least 50/50 Tiger will birdie there too. Back to Tiger’s birdie at the second for now, though. Paddy came close. Yang came up short. Tiger… catches the right edge and it stays out. Still -8 with two good opportunities on the first two holes. He certainly seems to be playing well to start.

15:14:37: Anyone going to join the chat? It’s “pga2k9” on AOL Instant Messenger. Or IM me at “iacas” and I’ll invite you.

15:15:33: Tiger turns one over at the third and finds the back lip of the bunker 290 yards from the tee. Feherty thinks he may have been trying to go for the green in two with that swing. Yang finds the fairway. Tiger – and Yang – will lay up and pitch at it like everyone else today. Back to commercial. Friggin’ CBS.

15:19:51: Paddy from about 50 feet for birdie misses left. His layup left him in trouble. Yang lays up with a hybrid. He finds the flat spot in the fairway. Tiger from 330 off the upslope lays up right in the middle of the fairway. He’s a ways back. Might have been fat, but it would almost have to be from that lie.

15:24:09: Paddy misses the green badly, finds a bunker, at the fourth. Tiger -8, Paddy and Yang -6, G. Lover -5.

15:24:29: Tiger, 6I from 168, cuts it and yells “bite bite bite bite” and flies it 15 yards too far. Last birdie on a par five was in the second round, CBS tells us. Faldo says Tiger offered up a baker’s dozen of “bite”s. Makes me hungry for a donut.

15:25:48: Yang has 102. Sand wedge will spin too much, the CBS crew postulates. He chooses strong sand wedge, throws it beyond the flag, and pulls it back to eight feet. He is likely to get to within one of Tiger.

15:27:27: G. Lover nearly holes out at the fifth – he’ll get to -6 with Paddy and Yang. Paddy splashes out to three feet at the fourth. G. Lover taps in, -6.

15:29:32: Faldo tries to put himself in the “I called it” box by saying Tiger likes to make the occasional difficult putt. The ball misses a foot right with perfect speed.

15:31:33: Yang makes, gets to -7.

15:32:38: Stenson gets back to -4. I stand by my earlier prediction. 🙂

15:34:06: Yang with a 5I is hole-high 25 feet right. Paddy off the fifth tee finds the fairway. A lot less roll than previous rounds. G. Lover at the sixth, slings one around the corner. He slipped here yesterday.

15:34:56: Tiger at the fourth, also with a 5I, a smooth swing. 50 feet or so – not a great effort. Yang isn’t fading, and Tiger may need to start playing a little better. But Paddy hasn’t made a move yet and I don’t know that an HSBC China event or the Honda Classic equate to a major for Y.E. Still calling this one 75% Tiger’s at this point.

15:37:17: I really don’t like U2. Sellouts. R.E.M. is the better band of that era by far.

15:38:58: Ernie misses a putt. The crowd groans. Tiger’s putt is four feet short – on a hole he three-putted yesterday.

15:39:41: G. Lover sticks it in the bunker on the sixth and will be hitting towards the water. Chunk and run if there ever was one coming right up. 😉

15:40:14: Yang’s fairly straight putt comes up short. It was dead center if it had a foot more speed. He’s not wilting. Faldo talks about how this will “definitely go into the back nine.” The broadcast is making a bunch of shrieking noises. Tiger’s par putt misses, catching the right edge, and he falls back to -7. Yang is tied for the lead, and Paddy and G. Lover are only one back. Paddy’s attempt to tie goes right at five.

15:42:57: If Tiger has another gear, it’s time to engage it.

15:43:00: G. Lover to six feet from the bunker. Will really want that to stay within one. Yang tees off first from the fifth, gaining a shot each of the last two holes. Right-center of the fairway.

15:43:48: Tiger hits a 3W. Twirl. Center and 15 yards past Yang. G. Lover at six… does nearly 180° and stays out. He falls back to -5. Tiger and Yang, -7. Paddy -6. G. Lover -5.

15:45:43: LL Cool J is doing a TV show. It’s NCIS: Los Angeles. You know, because the only shows on TV anymore are re-makes of existing cop/lawyer shows, reality shows, and sit-coms. It’s no wonder I watch less and less TV every year, when shows like “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” don’t survive. The more brainless, the better, it seems. 😛

15:47:53: Paddy tees off the sixth and finds the fairway just fine. Yang and Woods are back on the fifth. Yang has 160. One hand off the club. Way, WAY right, shortsided. Rory gets to -3.

15:50:02: Tiger has 154. I was well off in my earlier statement. Tiger has a 7I – a lot of club. Grips down. Stares at it. It goes left and finds the greenside bunker.

15:51:54: Paddy at the sixth. Aggressive, back to the flag, two yards from the water, just on the green. Will have a good look at birdie.

15:52:49: Payne Stewart retrospective. October 25 will mark ten years.

15:54:16: Tiger splashes out to six feet. Yang, earlier, pitches really well to about eight feet.

15:54:52: Els, -2 at the seventh, makes birdie to get back to -3. Ernie ain’t winning without a back-nine 31 or something outrageous.

15:55:16: Yang misses just on the high side and falls back to -6. Paddy pulls his and it kisses the left edge.

15:56:41: Tiger makes par. Commercial break. Back to a one-shot lead. Tiger’s fortunate nobody’s done squat to counter his +1 round so far.

16:00:30: Tiger stripes one down the center of the sixth with a 3W. Paddy at the seventh, with a driver, leans. Deep in the thick rough on the right. Yang one-hands it again, into the trees on the right, and deeper right into the crowd.

16:02:21: John Merrick two putts for bogey and a 70, the lowest round of the day to this point.

16:02:52: Yang from the trees, thick lie, ball comes out left, and a great shot to 15 feet! He was in danger of pulling that into the drink. Amazing shot according to Feherty.

16:03:39: Tiger has 151. Chooses a 9I, throw it back and spin it – not a lot of room long, short, or left. He waves and blows a bug off the ball again. Now ready, a low draw, sounds crisp, staring it down. The ball takes a tiny hop forwards into the back rough, ball sitting up.

16:04:57: Kjeldsen is on TV, so you know he makes the putt. Gets to -4. He started with two bogeys but has made three birdies since then.

16:06:16: G. Lover at eight, hole on the front, 167. Misses two hundred yards left and will have to flop it towards the water. WTF? Paddy from the thick rough, hacks it out. Chops it out and will likely make only par.

16:07:06: Tiger has a brushy chip. It stays right and rolls to tap-in range. We see a slow-mo of his putt.

16:08:22: Padraig has 134 and it pulls back to 30 or so feet. So much for the brilliant insight from Kostis – 134 is pretty close. Yang’s birdie effort is short. He’ll stay at -6. Tiger has a par five next.

16:12:35: G. Lover chips through to the fringe. Two putts for a bogey. Paddy from 30 feet… just short. Right on line. Seven pars in a row.

16:12:59: Tiger with driver, staring after it, it’s fine. Left-center of the fairway. No worries. G. Lover walks after it right after he hits it. He’ll fall back to -4 with two bogeys in the last three holes. Stenson makes birdie to get to -4. Still sticking with what I said before. 🙂

16:14:04: Yang spins through his tee shot and fires it 20 yards past Tiger. We see a slow-mo swing of Yang and I have no idea how that guy can ever play a draw with that swing. Holy outside-to-in.

16:15:30: Tiger has 246 to the front and is laying up. Feherty is flabbergasted. It makes sense with the pin back right, but it’s still a bit odd. Yang has 266 and flings one way right, beaning people or something. Thick rough, matted down, water on the back side.

16:20:04: Tiger has 87 yards. Drives it in low. It stays well short and he’ll have 40 feet for birdie. Lousy. Paddy hits 6I and finds the drink on the right side after it bounces. Repeat: Paddy is wet at six.

16:20:54: Yang gets to place the ball – a good break.

16:21:48: Paddy’s third yanks it and nearly nails Stenson. He’s lying four.

16:22:55: Yang’s pitch takes a hard hop and rolls out to just inside of Tiger’s birdie putt. Great effort.

16:24:27: Tiger’s LONG birdie putt – short just like Paddy’s. Another par. Yawn and Zzzzzzz.

16:25:01: Paddy at eight, his fourth, bones it right into the water. Didn’t even hit land – just flew straight into the water. CBS shows us the 16th at Firestone. Paddy’s now lying five. He leaves his sixth short. He’ll make eight at best – Paddy’s chances are done. It’s now basically Tiger vs. Yang. Yang’s birdie putt misses.

16:28:07: Paddy’s round: par-par-par-par-par-par-par-QUINT. G. Lover makes a lousy attempt at a par putt and will have a three footer for bogey. Tiger -7, Yang -6, and Stenson and Kjeldsen at -4. We have a duel – but not the one we thought we’d have.

16:29:32: Tiger has a 6I from 167. He backs off it. He leans. Left bunker, well past hole high. Yang plays an easier shot and stuffs it to eight feet! Yang could lead after this hole.

16:34:40: Tiger fats it down to the fringe. 15 feet for par. Yang could have the lead very soon now… His putt comes up short and left. He bogeys another par three. Can he turn it on and make some birdies? He’s back to -6.

16:37:12: Yang shoves his putt wide right. He’ll stay at -6, tied with Tiger, two ahead of Stenson and Kjeldsen.

16:39:53: Yang stripes one down the ninth. Tiger, 3W, twirl. That’s all you need to know. Kjeldsen runs it two feet past after hacking out of the junk at 10. Par. Faldo holds out hope that Rory can “make it happen.” I don’t.

16:43:59: Tiger, 192 yards, fat side of the green, 40 feet. Kjeldsen misses the three-footer for bogey. He falls three back with Stenson at -3, giving three shots to Yang and Tiger.

16:44:57: Yang has only 148 yards. 8I. Staring it down. 25 feet, 15 inside of Tiger.

16:48:32: Faldo and McCord talk about Tiger’s conservative play. He has 40 feet or whatever. Strokes it, putt comes up short, tap-in par.

16:50:47: Yang lines up his putt. 25 feet or so, similar line to Tiger’s. Putt rolls to tap-in range but never scared the hole.

16:51:31: Back nine on Sunday. Year’s final major. Tiger is tied for the lead with the 110th ranked player in the world, three clear of the rest of the field.

16:52:55: I switch to the DirecTV mega-mix channel. I don’t know why – I’ll switch back soon enough I’m sure. I’m tempted to watch channel 703, which is just Woods/Yang, but we’ll see. Yang tees off on the tenth. He pulls it left, gets a HUGE lucky bounce, and is back in the fairway.

16:54:32: Tiger hits 3W. Up the right-hand side. Into the trees on the top of the hill, didn’t draw nearly as much. Feherty reports that the ball kicks back into the middle of the fairway. Both players get a break.

16:58:56: Tiger has 183, 9I. He goes after it. Drawing it. Great shot, “career shot” says Faldo, 10 feet right of the flag.

17:00:01: G. Lover’s third at the 11th is a great shot to five feet from 50 yards in a bunker. Kjeldsen putts up. Westwood misses a birdie putt to get within two. G. Lover lips out left and can’t gain any ground. Kostis tells us the greens are “subtly difficult” to read.

17:01:20: Yang at the tenth gets spin and pulls the ball back to 25 feet or so. Not a resounding answer to Tiger’s shot, but he can still answer by holing the putt.

17:04:18: Yang’s putt stops one inch short of going in the heart of the hole! Heart breaker! Tiger can now take the lead if he can roll in a ten-footer.

17:05:25: Tiger, straight down the hill. Twelve or 15 feet, actually. Pulls it or something – it’s left and he’ll tap in for par. Par five 11th next. Eight holes to go, two tied, three clear.

17:07:11: G. Lover yanks the bejeezus out of something and puts his ball into the back left of the green ahead. Yang’s tee shot at the 11th, staring at it, stays a foot inside the fairway. Tiger, driver. Immediately picks up the tee. “Annihilated” and 20 yards past Yang. This brings up one of Feherty’s flaws – an “annihilated” tee shot isn’t one that goes only 20 yards past a 5’7″ dude. Sorry, David.

17:12:37: Yang has 303. He lays up just short of the green. He’ll have a tightish shot but he’s close to the green. Kjeldsen knifes it out of a thick greenside lie over the 12th.

17:13:12: Tiger has 280 yards. Tiger has a wood out. He rips at it. Stares it down. High cut. Onto the front of the green. He’ll have two putts for birdie from the range he’s been putting from all day: 50 feet or so. 😛 Yang will have a chip and a putt to stay tied if Tiger can birdie.

17:15:10: Kjeldsen for par… no. He drops another shot. G. Lover at 12 also bogeys after a poor chip left him eight feet. Els at the thirteenth, -1, makes it and gets to -2. A top 10 for Ernie, but that’s all he can get.

17:16:46: It’s a two-man battle. What are the odds Yang and Woods will be put on the clock on the tee of the watery 16th this week? 🙂

17:17:11: Yang’s pitch across the bunker gets a funny bounce and leaves him 20 feet. Feherty encourages Yang to mark quickly. Rory McIlroy plays a great 45-yard bunker shot at the 15th. He misses the putt, though. Faldo still thought he could win… no.

17:18:25: Feherty “up a steep slope.” Not an easy two putt. 40 feet or so. Straightish. Tiger hits it, ball wiggles right, stays short. What’s that saying about leaving eagle putts short? 🙂 Tiger will tap in from three feet for birdie to get back to -7.

17:19:28: G. Lover stripes a 3I at the 13th to ten feet. Good for him. Still not gonna win. 🙂

17:20:48: Yang misses, taps in. Tiger quickly follows and taps in. He’s got Yang by one and the rest of the field by four. The difficult 12th looms.

17:23:18: Tiger yanks the crap out of one to the left of the 12th. It barely got into the crowd, though – it’s really not as bad a miss as you first thought. Yang finds the fairway by a yard with a 320-yard drive. Tiger will have an angle, it appears, if he has a lie.

17:27:26: Kjeldsen at 13, flopadopalus into the bunker. Bogey at least. It’s buried, too, right under the lip. Third shot just barely gets onto the green.

17:28:06: Tiger has a clean lie, 209 yards, needs a high hook and the wind is going to help. 6I, “gonna ride that wind” says Feherty. I’ve hit this shot, so Tiger can. One hands it, says “stop,” and flies the green by ten yards. Going to have to make a good up and down for par.

17:29:27: 198 yards, 6I also for Yang. Back left of the green, 40 feet. Kjeldsen for his bogey, doesn’t go. Doubles the 13th and falls back to even par.

17:30:23: Ernie leaves an eagle putt short at the 14th. FAIL. He’s -3.

17:32:59: Tiger’s pitch from behind the 12th, thinned. Flies past the hole and stops quickly, at least, leaving 12 or 15 feet for par.

17:34:16: Yang’s LONG birdie putt runs up to the hole and stops two feet from the cup. Tap-in par, just what he wanted there.

17:35:45: Tiger’s putt for par to stay in the lead. Just hangs out to the right, doesn’t break, and Tiger bogeys to go back to -6. Two tied for the lead once again. The group at -3 includes McIlroy, Westwood, Els, and Stenson.

17:39:28: Yang hits a hybrid, one-arms it again. Ball going left. Big bunker, fortunately a bit fat so it didn’t go into the water. Tiger has an iron. A 3I to be specific, from 240 yards. Small opening here even with a par. Backs off the shot as the crowd cheers on another hole. The TV weirds out. We see sky as Tiger hits his shot. Feherty likes it. “One of the best of the day” and we don’t see it – we see sky. Now the camera’s back. “Wonderful chance for birdie.” CBS still hasn’t shown us the ball. Or the shot. They’re showing them walking from the tee. Nantz and Faldo commentate on several shots at 18 and we still see Tiger and Yang walking. They’re at the fairway now. Westwood posted 285 apparently.

17:42:34: Stenson, off the deck at 14, nearly holes it and just rolls through into the back bunker.

17:43:03: Now we see Tiger’s ball – ten feet left of the cup.

17:43:31: Yang’s ball is well below his feet in the bunker. Soft splash. Ball runs out to just inside of Tiger’s.

17:45:37: Tiger’s ten footer for birdie to take the lead. His putt is struck firmly and slips by the left-hand side. Yang’s putt to stay tied, then, falls right in the center of the cup. His ball went left at the cup – I’m not sure what Tiger thought he saw in his putt.

17:49:38: Five holes left. Odds of a playoff? It’s looking more likely with each minute.

17:50:02: Stenson pars the driveable 14th. Yang has a driver. Gives it a rip. It goes right and hooks, but doesn’t slide past the bunker. He’s in the rough just short and left of the bunker – he’ll have a decent stance.

17:51:27: Tiger’s going to play a big cut. Not quite as high. Stock driver at the left bunker. He cuts it. It’s sliding too much. Front bunker. He’ll have to out-scramble Yang to get the lead, or avoid being out-scrambled.

17:52:19: I still hate U2. Bathroom break time.

17:55:07: Tiger is on a severe upslope. The ball is above his feet. Tough to judge these kinds of shots. Tiger splashes it out and puts a big swing on it. The ball releases to eight feet. Yang will get inside that with a bad chip.

17:56:32: Yang’s chip, ball also above his feet. Balk. Gives it a hit. Ball GOES IN!!!! Y.E. Yang leads the PGA Championship by two shots over Tiger Woods!

17:58:08: Tiger’s birdie putt… falls in the left side. He’s lost the lead for the first time since, well, part-way through his first round early Thursday. Yang -8, Tiger -7. Four holes left.

17:59:42: One gets the sense that, today, Yang is almost too innocent and even too ignorant to “know better” – to know that he’s not supposed to be sticking it to Tiger Woods. Will he play the role of Rich Beem again? Or that of Bob May? How far will he go before he succumbs to Tiger Woods – all the way to the end?

18:01:54: Yang’s drive rockets down the 15th fairway. Right down the middle. Nearly 300. Tiger’s drive up the left side, it cuts, and it rolls past Yang’s ball by 50 yards.

18:03:34: Corey Pavin finishes up at the 18th and shoots 75 to finish +2. The shortest hitter on the longest course and he’s T22. McIlroy pars to get into the clubhouse at -3 with Lee Westwood.

18:04:59: Yang’s drive went 333 (CBS’s graphics stink) and he has 312 yards left. Tiger’s ball went 366 and he has 279.

18:07:58: Yang, fairway wood. Ball runs just a teeny bit into the right intermediate cut. Tiger has a fairway wood out as well. The 5W. Slight downslope. Gives it a rip. It’s heavy. Ball still finds the fairway behind Yang’s ball.

18:13:01: Tiger has 71 yards. Feherty thinks he’s going behind the flag to spin it back. He clips it okay, high with spin. It’s short and pulls back to 10 feet. Yang might have an easier shot.

18:13:57: Yang has 62 yards. He leans back off it and it comes up well short. Yang has 30 feet to Tiger’s 10.

18:16:14: Yang has an uphill, then downhill putt. He lags it up short but to tap-in range. He’ll only manage par.

18:17:32: Tiger will take his time. He lines up his putt. Ten, twelve feet or so. Strokes it and… it slides by the left side. Par for Tiger. Three holes left, Tiger one back of Y.E. Yang.

18:20:24: Tiger won’t hit a 3I here today. He barely got to the fairway yesterday. Yang, no practice swing, 3W. Looks heavy, stares at it funny. Right in the middle of the fairway, but a long ways back. That was odd. Tiger is gripping down on a 3W. Twirl. It’s fine and just past.

18:24:04: I’m leaning towards thinking that Yang will pull this out.

18:25:56: Tiger will actually be first to play because he’s farther left. Tiger has 161 into the breeze. 7I, same as yesterday. Doesn’t like it. Left – safe – 35 feet on the green. Yang’s shot, also 7I, leans left, two feet from being wet. If that. 12 feet for birdie.

18:28:39: Tiger’s putt is three times longer than Yang’s. Tiger’s running out of holes to turn on the magic. Yang won’t be able to mark or clean as he’s just on the fringe, but the way things have gone today, Tiger will lip out and Yang will knock his in.

18:30:07: Tiger is standing over his putt. It goes right hard. It’s on its way and it has speed. It’s low. He still has four feet for his par. Yang has 16 feet for a two-shot lead with two to play. He started two back of Tiger to start the round, and would win for only the second time on the PGA Tour with the win. He’s 110th in the world.

18:31:33: Yang’s putt… for a two-shot lead… slides across the face of the hole. He’ll putt out before Tiger raps his four-footer.

18:33:36: If there’s a playoff, they’ll play holes 16, 17, and 18. Yang is one stroke ahead with two holes to play.

18:36:43: Ernie Els bogeys 18 to finish at -1 and to shoot 74. He’ll be 40 in October. He’s done winning majors in my opinion.

18:37:17: Pin is back left on 17, perfect for a Tiger draw. He’s probably glad he doesn’t have a fade pin – he’s been hitting those straight all year. The 17th has been playing very difficult all day long. Yang will win the PGA Championship with two pars.

18:38:59: 182 yards. Par three. Water left.

18:39:38: Yang’s 7I. Poses. Right at it but well short. 35 feet. Two pars is fine for Y.E. He’s in the odd position of having to make Tiger do something.

18:40:33: Tiger has a 7I also, and Feherty thinks he’ll have to hit it well. It’s a draw. He backs off it and checks the wind.

18:41:25: Now back over the ball. Strikes it. Staring it down. Likes it. Flies the back of the green and hops it into the junk. Y.E. Yang will win the PGA Championship.

18:42:22: Faldo talks about how Tiger is half a club off. This despite Friday I remember Feherty and others talking about Tiger’s perfect distance control. Kostis points this out to them, ha.

18:44:25: Tiger takes small practice swings. The ball pops out and comes up way, way short. Twelve feet for par. Y.E. Yang is going to win the PGA Championship. I wonder if Y.E. has ever heard of a guy named Jean Van de Velde.

18:46:00: Yang’s birdie putt comes up well short. He has eight feet. Tiger is overheard asking if Yang’s husband plays golf, too.

18:47:20: Tiger has twelve feet to save par and put a world of pressure on Yang, who has dealt with it until 120 seconds ago. His putt… slides left. No good. Tiger bogeys. He’s +2 on the day. He’ll shoot 74 and only one guy will beat him – the unheralded guy at that.

18:48:45: Yang’s eight footer for par to give him a two-shot lead. It’s… wide right, lips out. Tiger goes to the 18th one back. But, still, I think Y.E. Yang will win the PGA Championship.

18:50:59: 32 bogeys at the 18th today, 38 pars, and two birdies. But does “Y.E.” stand for “Yip ‘Em” or can he close it out on 18? I think the odds of a playoff are only 20%.

18:52:11: Yang’s tee shot is striped down the left side, just into the first cut. Tiger takes driver. Swings at it. Stares at it and leans. Ball lands softly and hugs the right side of the fairway. The pin is on the left side of the green – Tiger has the better angle. Tiger birdied the 18th – twice – the last time he won the U.S. Open to catch up to an opponent that was one better. But that was a par five.

18:53:50: Paddy finishes out on 18 at even par. He shoots 78, +6, coming in with 37. Ouch.

18:55:43: Tiger Woods has 197 yards. No water, but the pin is tucked over a bunker on a lobe on the back-middle and left side of the green. Downhill. Yang is going to play first, from 206 yards, with a hybrid. 3U. It nearly flies in the hole! He has eight feet for birdie. Tiger practically has to jar it to TIE.

18:57:32: Wind left to right.

18:58:31: Tiger with a 5I. He misses the green left, in the rough. Y.E. Yang will win the 2009 PGA Championship.

18:59:07: Tiger will be second-guessed from here on out. Was he too conservative early on? Why couldn’t he make the putts he normally makes? Is Tiger just trying to attack Jack’s record 19 runner-up finishes in the majors?

19:00:03: Chat room comment: “Another major winner that needs a translator.”

19:00:14: This season truly is about the runners-up in the majors.

19:01:54: Tiger’s chip goes begging. Eight feet long, just inside. He’ll even give the guy a read.

19:02:13: Congratulations to Y.E. Yang.