Winners and Losers from PGA Week

It was "glory's last shot" at Hazeltine National, and a first for modern day golf fans. Our best golfer failed to win a tournament he was leading, leaving the door open for a basic unknown. So who left Minnesota with smiles on their faces, and who will be trying to Scope that bad taste out of their mouths? Below are the winners and losers from PGA Championship week.

Winners

Y.E. Yang -- Sometimes it's best to admit when you were completely and utterly wrong. On Sunday morning, I tweeted the following -- "over/under on Y.E. Yang's score today? I'd set it at 75.5. Thoughts?" Yep, Yang surprised just about everyone at Hazeltine, being paired with the best in the world, matching him shot for shot and eventually using a gutsy 3-iron to end a round that couldn't have been finished better if you were playing Hazeltine on a video game (say, Tiger Woods 2010, perhaps?). Not only was his win historic, taking down Woods for the first time when he was leading a major championship after 54 holes, but it made an entire group of people excited about this fantastic sport.

Yang will be known as the man who defeated Tiger to us, but on the other side of the globe, he will simply be the native who won a major championship for the first time.

Golf in the Olympics -- Talk about a cherry on top for golf's push to be in the Olympics. As the week began, talk was focused on golf being added to the rotation, after the IOC recommended it for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Tiger admitted he'd play if he hadn't retired by then, and now an Asian-born player wins a first major championship. If people in China, the Koreas and Japan weren't excited about a potential showdown for a gold medal before Hazeltine, they'll sure be pumped to see it after. Yang did a lot for golf with his 2-under 70 on Sunday. More than we probably understand.

Rory McIlroy -- The 20-year-old European started the season with jumbo-sized expectations, after claiming the Dubai Desert Classic over Justin Rose. He came to the States to compete, and, unlike most young guns we see come and struggle, McIlroy had a fantastic season. Ten of 11 made cuts, including all four of the majors, a tie for 10th at the U.S. Open and now a third-place finish at the PGA after he closed with a 2-under 70 in tough conditions. On Sunday, Rory opened with a double-bogey on the first hole (a par-4 he played 5-over for the week) but bounced back with four birdies on the front nine, a sign that he doesn't get too frustrated. Of all the guys in the younger generation, McIlroy seems like the kid who will win one of these majors soon enough. He doesn't let himself get down, he has the moxie to compete against anyone and now has the experience. Oh, and it appears he has the girl, too.

Losers

Tiger Woods -- At some point on Sunday, when Tiger had finally putted out and gave his interviews and was on his way back to Florida, something probably hit him like it hit a few of us -- we're going to have to hear about this loss for the next eight months. It will be the talk of the golf world: Tiger choked! He isn't the same! Release the hounds! The bottom line is, yes, Tiger did play poorly on Sunday. I try not to toss the word "choke" around easily, because there are too many Carnoustie triples and Winged Foot doubles to be talked about, but his putter wasn't there all weekend, and when he started hitting the ball average by Tiger's standards, the flat-stick was exposed.

Maybe the most telling thing I noticed about Woods this week, especially on the weekend, was how off he was with his good shots. The 17th hole on Sunday was the best example, as Woods executed a golf shot to perfection, only to have it fly his intended target by 12 yards. When Tiger is dialed in, it always seems that those shots find a way to nestle comfortably close to the pin, and they didn't on Saturday or Sunday. Woods closed with a 74 at the British, and now a 75 at the PGA Championship. I'm not sure what to blame for any of this, or if we just check it off to this game being stupid hard, but I'm sure over the next eight months, anyone with the ability to speak will find a way to make this a Tiger-demic.

The Grand Slam of Golf -- Every year, when real golf winds down and Silly Season begins, the world is awarded the Grand Slam of Golf, a tournament that pits the four major winners against each other. Phil Mickelson might have had the greatest moment in the event, shooting a final-round 59 in 2004 that was a 10-foot eagle putt on the 18th away from a 58. If that were the high point, 2009 might be the low point. Yang joins Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover and Stewart Cink in a tournament that will be lucky to draw half as many viewers as Cink has Twitter followers.

Padraig Harrington -- Oy. Two weeks in a row, two chips from behind a green, in the rough, with water guarding, and consecutive visits to the fishes. The eight Padraig carded on the par-3 8th hole might be one of the things we remember the most from PGA Championship week, because it was that moment when the major went from a tournament to a two-man match play event. Harrington has had to answer questions about his swing all year long, but it was a short iron and a chip shot that did him in at his tournament to defend. Yes, it was fairly impressive that Paddy could hold it together to only shoot 1-over the rest of the day in, but the quintuple bogey will be hard to shake for a man that seems to be shaking his head a lot these days. Still winless in '09, you might not see a lot of Harrington the rest of the year.