Al Canitia

NOBODY’S PERFECT. THAT CLICHÉ didn’t apply to Tiger Woods, who was a perfect 14 for 14 at closing out majors when he led after 54 holes. Until today at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

South Korean Y.E. Yang, a golfer who has won once on the PGA Tour and didn’t take up the game until he was 19, overtook Tiger today in a nearly flawless performance at a gusty and crusty Hazeltine in the PGA Championship. Yang had 70 to Tiger’s 75 for a three-shot victory.

It was a historic win, as well as a great upset. Yang is the first Asian-born golfer to claim a men’s major championship.

I knew very little about Yang, but the strengths of his game were immediately obvious. He put his ball in play and hit a lot of quality approach shots. And Yang did it in the most pressurized situation in golf, a final-round pairing with Tiger at a major.

Tiger hit quality shots, too, as expected, but the putts didn’t drop. Many burned the edge. When the putts don’t fall, Tiger doesn’t win. It almost always comes down to the putter in majors.

FORTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK, ex-Army staff sergeant Orville Moody stood over a 14-inch putt on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open at the Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas.

It was no gimme. “Sarge,” as he was nicknamed, was an awful putter. But he was a sweet ball striker. PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman later said, “He was the best shotmaker in the world at the time.”

Nonetheless, Moody had never won a tour event − much less a major − when he took his stance and tried to steady his hands over the biggest putt of his life. Somehow Orville nudged the ball into the cup and was crowned U.S. Open champion. It was his first and last victory on the PGA Tour.

How Moody won that U.S. Open is a part of tournament lore. It’s also a testimony to what makes the U.S. Open great. You see, above all, the U.S. Open is an “open” championship. You can earn your spot in the field, whether as an amateur (1.4 handicap index or lower) or professional.

Another First-Time Champion: Michael Allen is the 23rd player to win the Senior PGA Championship in his first try. Denis Watson (2007) was the most recent to capture the Senior PGA Championship in his debut. That list also includes Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Hale Irwin.

Sunday TV Times: NBC Sports will televise the final round of the 70th Senior PGA Championship, from Noon to 3 p.m. Eastern.

Weekend TV Times: NBC Sports will televise the final two rounds of the 70th Senior PGA Championship. The dates and TV times (Eastern Time):
 
Saturday, May 23 — 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 24 — Noon to 3 p.m.


Cut Falls at 7-Over Par: A total of 77 players will compete over the weekend, with the 36-hole cut falling at 7-over-par 147.

Among those who failed to qualify for weekend play are nine major champions (listed based in order of finish) — Craig Stadler, Fuzzy Zoeller, Jerry Pate, Nick Price, Ben Crenshaw, Sandy Lyle, Lanny Wadkins, Bob Charles and Charles Coody. 


66 is The Magic Number: With both Michael Allen and Ross Drummond shooting 66 today, four players over the first two rounds have now tied the Canterbury Golf Club competitive course record for low score. Scott Hoch and Tom Purtzer also shot 66, in the first round.

Butch Sheehan of Rancho Mirage, Calif., who adopted a “sidesaddle” putting stroke nearly a quarter-century ago, has bounced back from two hip replacements and Thursday at the 70th Senior PGA Championship, he found he still has game.

"Great golf courses and great designs stand the test of time." — Ohio native John Cook on Canterbury Golf Club, which was designed in the 1920s and is where Cook reached the final of the 1979 U.S. Amateur

 "Visually, this is one of the best-looking courses we've ever played on for this Championship. Everything is so well-defined and right in front of you. It's a pleasure to play here." Dana Quigley on Canterbury Golf Club. Quigley has six top-10 finishes in 12 Senior PGA Championship appearances.

Returning to Canterbury in Good Form: Mark O'Meara and John Cook, winner and runner-up respectively, in the 1979 U.S. Amateur held at Canterbury Golf Club, come back this week playing at a high level. Each has three top-10 finishes in his last three starts on the Champions Tour.

Quite a Field from '79 Amateur: A total of 11 players who competed in the 1979 U.S. Amateur are back this week at Canterbury for the 2009 Senior PGA Championship. Joining O'Meara and Cook from that list:

"These fairways [at Canterbury Golf Club] are better than a lot of greens I've putted on." — PGA Club Professional Mike San Filippo, competing this week in his seventh consecutive Senior PGA Professional.
 
"There are two things you must do this week to be successful here [at Canterbury]: You must drive the ball in the fairway and you must keep the ball below the hole. This is probably the toughest set of greens I have ever played on one golf course." — Kirk Hanefeld, the 2008 Senior PGA Professional National Champion, who is making his fourth consecutive appearance in the Senior PGA Championship
 
A Gathering of Champions: One of the great traditions of Senior PGA Championship week is the annual gathering of both Senior PGA Champions and PGA Champions for dinner and camaraderie.
 
On Tuesday night, Defending Senior PGA Champion Jay Haas hosted the Champions' Dinner at Canterbury Golf Club. Haas and 14 other Senior PGA Champions and PGA Champions dined on this menu chosen by Haas and his wife, Jan:

Make Room for Lanny: Eight members of the World Golf Hall of Fame will compete in the 70th Senior PGA Championship this week at Canterbury Golf Club in Cleveland, Ohio -- Bob Charles, Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Greg Norman, Nick Price and Tom Watson. Also in the field this week is Lanny Wadkins, the 1977 PGA Champion and 1995 U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain, who was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in April and will be formally enshrined in the fall.
 
Nothing Wrong With 73: By a mere nine days, Dale Douglass holds the distinction as the oldest player in the field this week. Born March 5, 1936, Douglass and Bob Charles (born March 14, 1936) are 73 and going strong.
 
Like Sister, Like Brother: PGA Club Professional Butch Sheehan is the brother of Patty Sheehan, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Butch Sheehan, making his fourth Senior PGA Championship appearance this week, is a PGA teaching professional at Indian Wells (Calif.) Country Club.