Every Monday during the PGA Tour season, Monday Pin Placement will run as a wrap-up of the weekend's action. Basically, we'll focus on what you may have missed while you were out grinding on the putting green.Yang Holds on in Florida -- Before Sunday, Y.E. Yang was a name most golf fans probably had never heard of. A star on the Japan Tour, Yang is known by American golf fans as the guy who beat Tiger Woods in the 2006 HSBC Championship in China.
It might be time to remember him for more than that.
Yang beat out John Rollins and Ben Crane at the Honda Classic for his first PGA Tour victory and his fourth straight cut made Stateside this year. In '08, Yang made 17 of 29 cuts in his first full season on tour and now will be around for two more years after the win. He is also just the second Korean golfer to win a PGA event, along with K.J. Choi.
What else did Yang land besides the million dollar check and a trophy? He will get another crack at Tiger this week at Doral for the CA Championship, and also better book a hotel in Augusta, because the win secured him a spot at the Masters.
If you are a PGA Tour player without a win, landing that sucker before April sure does have its perks. Yang has only played at Augusta National once in his career, finishing a respectable t-30 at the '07 Masters, his best finish in a major championship.
Tiger To Debut ... AGAIN! -- If you were hibernating all weekend long, you might not have caught the news that Woods will be playing at Doral this week, his second tournament since coming back (his first was at the WGC-CA Championship).
I really thought Doral would be the first tournament Woods would play, but after just two rounds at the Accenture Match Play before getting knocked out by Tim Clark it will be his second. So how has Tiger done at the CA Championship over his career? Well, pretty average (yeah, right). He's only won it six times in the nine years it has been around, including '07, when the tournament was first debuted at Doral.
The tournament layouts at this point are like stars aligning for Woods. Although he hasn't announced it yet, it only makes sense. Play Accenture, take a week off. Play CA, take a week off. Play the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard in two weeks, take a week off, and then it's the Masters.
I still can't see Tiger winning this week, but this will be his first stroke play event and it'll be interesting to see how he approaches it. Look for something like a 70-71 opening round as he strategizes his way around the course before posting something dirty like 67 on Saturday. You know, typical Tiger.
Erik Compton Debuts in '09 -- You might remember the story of Erik Compton from PGA Tour Qualifying School.
Just 28 years old, Compton has already had two heart replacements but the third one must have pumped ice water through his veins, because the guy made up seven shots in the second stage of Q-School to advance by a shot.
Now, playing the Honda Classic for his first event of the season, Compton fired two rounds of 69 to open the tournament before struggling on the weekend. He finished t-44, good enough to pick up a solid check and hopefully entice some other sponsors to give him an exemption into a few more tournaments this year.
Final Round Handshakes ...
-- James Nitties jumped on the golf scene this year with a great start at the FBR Open. He opened with a 65 before visiting the media center and admitting to all of us that he enjoys "clubbing" about as much as anything. While I'll avoid some corny "I guess clubbing means knocking the hell out of the ball" jokes here, I will say this -- the guy is rolling (sorry for weak pun).
After the t-4 in Phoenix, Nitties picked up another t-6 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, the other tournament during Accenture week, and snagged a t-22 at the Honda. Like I've always preached, all golfers need is a little confidence boost to get it going, and it appears Nitties' happened at the FBR Open.
-- Webb Simpson was the rookie sensation earlier in the season. Two top-10s to start his season and another top-20 at the Buick Invitational was more than you could really ask for. The 23-year-old might have run into a little reality on tour, missing his last two cuts including a week at the Nissan that included three double-bogeys and a quadruple.
-- Paula Creamer might not be winning on the LPGA this season, but she sure is cashing in. A t-15 at the SBS Open in Hawaii under her belt, Creamer has posted consecutive third place finishes.
