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Asian golf has come of age with win, Dubai fans say

Yang Yong-eun's victory at the US PGA Championship at Hazeltine was sensational not just because of the manner in which he won, by beating Tiger Woods, but more because it is a harbinger of bad news for the rest of the world and good news for Asia.

  • By Duane Fonseca, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:01 August 17, 2009
  • Gulf News

Dubai: Yang Yong-eun's victory at the US PGA Championship at Hazeltine was sensational not just because of the manner in which he won, by beating Tiger Woods, but more because it is a harbinger of bad news for the rest of the world and good news for Asia.

That is the opinion doing the rounds across Dubai. And although there are exceptions to that pattern of thinking, most of Dubai's golfing community feel that a power shift is on the cards.

South Korean Yang, two shots adrift of overnight leader Woods, held his nerve to win by three shots, his victory ending Woods' 14-Major winning-run when leading going into the final round. Yang's success was well-received by the Asian community across the emirate, with his countryman SC Shin, a 20-year-old student, claiming Yang is a role model.

"This is really amazing because he is one of the famous guys in Korea. In Korea, people are crazy to play golf and there are a lot of good players. &And people like Yang make us Koreans real proud," Shin said.

Viren Verma, media manager at "Golf in Dubai", which organises tournaments like the Dubai Desert Classic and Dubai Ladies Masters, said: "Yang's victory has shown that Asian golf has come of age in Asia and that our golfers can compete at the highest level".

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