...Haven’t tumbled down just yet.

Y.E. Yang did what nobody else has this past weekend, staring Tiger Woods in the eye on a Major championship stage and emerging victorious. It was stunning stuff for the 37-year-old Yang, whose résumé (which also includes four Japan Tour wins, a Korean Open, the prestigious 2006 HSBC Champions in Shanghei and this year’s PGA Tour Honda Classic) is quite beyond what many mainstream media outlets seemed to realize, but which was not, on the whole, predictive of a week such as this. But while many a star of the Woods era has laid down before him on Major Sundays, Yang did more than just hold it together; indeed, his closing two-under-par 70 tied for low round of the day, his par save and the 13th and chip-in eagle at the 14th represented elite high-pressure execution, and his hybrid approach to within 10 feet at the 475-yard finisher was a genuine epic.

The law of averages always suggested that Tiger would give one of these away eventually, but Yang went out and beat Woods; he didn’t wait to see if fate might hand him the trophy.

Still, the majority of the new conversation pertains to Woods, and to what extent his game has declined from those halcyon days of 2000 – and several epic campaigns since. At a very obvious level, the fact that he has won five times in 2009 (including the two weeks directly ahead of the PGA) demonstrates conclusively that his game is not in some bottomless decline. Further, his failure to win a Major in 2009 is hardly without precedent; 1998, 2003 and 2004 were similarly Major-free, with the latter two seasons each offering only a single top-10 in the game’s four biggest events. [As an aside, Jack Nicklaus endured three Major-less years between turning pro in 1961 and the end of his 33rd year – so these things do happen.]

The bigger question about Woods, it seems, is the general state of his game, which currently resembles Seve Ballesteros in his prime far more than Nicklaus in his. Sunday’s “I hit it great all day” assessment notwithstanding, Woods’ game is clearly beset by questions, ranging from the occasional putting woes (perhaps temporary) to a golf swing which, despite the built-in straightness of modern equipment, all too frequently sees his tee shots spray rather epically off line. Yet despite such issues, he remains comfortably the world’s best golfer – and objectively speaking, there is still no serious threat to his throne.

That said, lets see where we stand a year from now. If Tiger wins another Major or two in 2010, his stranglehold on number one will remain absolute, he’ll be creeping ever closer to Nicklaus’s record of 18 professional Majors, and a supreme dominance of the game’s career record book will loom just over the horizon. Should he fail to claim another Major in 2010, however, an alternative story becomes considerably more writeable, and questions of a decline may carry legitimate weight.

There will be much to look forward to in 2010.

PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship

Site: Sedgefield Country Club - Greensboro, NC
Yards: 7,130   Par: 70
Defending: Carl Pettersson 259   (beat S. McCarron by 2)
Field: World Top 20: Lucas Glover (20)   Other Notables: Fred Couples, John Daly, David Duval, Steve Elkington, Lee Janzen, Davis Love III & Corey Pavin.

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European PGA Tour: KLM Open

Site: Kennemer Golf & Country Club – Zandvoort, Netherlands
Yards: 6,626   Par: 70
Defending: Darren Clarke 264   (beat P. McGinley by 4)
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Darren Clarke, James Kingston, Thomas Levet, Colin Montgomerie & Jose Maria Olazabal.

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Japan Tour: Kansai Open

Site: Takarazuka Golf Club (New course) – Hyogo, Japan
Yards: 6,694   Par: 72
Defending: New Event
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Ryo Ishikawa, Toshi Izawa & Craig Parry.

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Sunshine Tour: Telkom PGA Pro-Am

Site: Centurion Country Club – Centurion, South Africa
Meters: 6,373   Par: 72
Defending: Merrick Bremner 200   (beat D. Lambert & J. Van Zyl by 1)
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Desvondes Botes, Darren Fichardt, James Kamte, Hennie Otto & Des Terblanche.

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Champions Tour: JELD-WEN Tradition

Site: Crosswater Club at Sunriver – Sunriver, Oregon
Yards: 7,683   Par: 72
Defending: Fred Funk 269   (beat M. Goodes by 3)
Field: Ranked: The entire Charles Schwab Cup top 20 except Michael Allen (8) & Nick Price (10)   Other Notables: Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin, Larry Nelson, Greg Norman, Jerry Pate, Gary Player, Tom Watson & Fuzzy Zoeller.

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Elsewhere...
JLPGA – CAT Ladies – Kanagawa, Japan
Futures – Turkey Hill Classic – Harrisburg, PA
Nationwide – Christmas in October – Overland Park, KS
Canadian – Desjardins Montreal Open – Montreal, Quebec
Euro Seniors – Scottish Senior Open – St Andrews, Scotland

PGA Championship

Winner: Y.E. Yang 73-70-67-70   280   (beat T. Woods by 3)
Site: Hazeltine National Golf Club - Chaska, MN

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Asian Tour: Queens Cup

Winner: Chinnarat Phadungsil 66-65-70-67   268   (beat three players by 3)
Site: Santiburi Samui Country Club – Koh Samui, Thailand

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Sunshine Tour: Vodacom Origins of Golf Erinvale

Winner: Jaco Ahlers 64-71   135   (beat E. van den Berg in a playoff)
Site: Erinvale Golf Estate – Somerset West, South Africa

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Elsewhere...
JLPGA – NEC Karuizawa 72 – Chie Arimura 206 (Story)
Futures – iMPACT Classic – Lisa Meldrum 208 (Story)
Nationwide – Price Cutter Charity Championship – Justin Boli 267 (Story)
Euro Challenge – Trophee du Golf de Geneve – Julien Quesne 269  (Story)

PGA Championship

Site: Hazeltine National Golf Club - Chaska, MN
Yards: 7,674   Par: 72
Defending: Padrig Harrington 277   (beat S. Garcia by 2)
Field: World Top 20: All except Robert Karlsson (18)   Other Notables: All who are physically able.

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Asian Tour: Queens Cup

Site: Santiburi Samui Country Club – Koh Samui, Thailand
Yards: 6,824   Par: 72
Defending: New event.
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Not many.

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Sunshine Tour: Vodacom Origins of Golf Erinvale

Site: Erinvale Golf Estate – Somerset West, South Africa
Yards: 7,087   Par: 72
Defending: Garth Mulroy 210   (beat R. Sterne by 4)
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Not many.

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Elsewhere...
JLPGA – NEC Karuizawa 72 – Nagano, Japan
Futures – iMPACT Classic – Richmond, VA
Nationwide – Price Cutter Charity Championship – Springfield, MO
Euro Challenge – Trophee du Golf de Geneve – Geneva, Switzerland

WGC – Bridgestone Invitational

Winner: Tiger Woods 68-70-65-65   268   (beat R. Allenby & P. Harrington by4)
Site: Firestone Country Club (South course) - Akron, OH

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


PGA Tour: Legends Reno-Tahoe Open

Winner: John Rollins 70-62-67-72   271   (beat M. Laird & J. Quinney by 3)
Site: Montreux Golf & Country Club - Reno, NV

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Asian Tour: Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters

Winner: Rick Kulacz 68-71-71-63   273   (beat K. Aphibarnrat by 1)
Site: Seri Selangor Golf Club – Dmansarah Indah, Malaysia

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Sunshine Tour: Suncoast Classic

Winner: Louis de Jager 68-68-71   207   (beat C. Swanepoel by 2)
Site: Durban Country Club – Durban, South Africa

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Elsewhere...
LET – S4C Wales Ladies Championship – Karen Stupples 276 (Story)
JLPGA – AXA Ladies – Momoko Ueda 205 (Story)
Futures – Falls Auto Group Classic – Mina Harigae 205 (Story)
Nationwide – Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open – Chris Tidland 268 (Story)
Euro Challenge – SK Golf Challenge – Nicolas Colsaerts 277 (Story)
Canadian - Roxul Jane Rogers Championship – Ryan Yip 278 (Story)
Euro Seniors – Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open – John Bland 199 (Story)

WGC – Bridgestone Invitational

Site: Firestone Country Club (South course) - Akron, OH
Yards: 7,400   Par: 70
Defending: Vijay Singh 270   (beat S. Appleby & L. Westwood by 1)
Field: World Top 20: All Except Robert Karlsson (18)   Other Notables: All other qualified players.

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PGA Tour: Legends Reno-Tahoe Open

Site: Montreux Golf & Country Club - Reno, NV
Yards: 7,472   Par: 72
Defending: Parker McLachlin 270   (beat B. Davis & J. Rollins by 7)
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Paul Azinger, Steve Elkington & Charl Schwartzel.

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Asian Tour: Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters

Site: Seri Selangor Golf Club – Dmansarah Indah, Malaysia
Meters: 6,374   Par: 72
Defending: Ben Leong 269   (beat T. Jaidee by 1)
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: James Kamte, Frankie Minoza, Seung-Yul Noh & Thaworn Wiratchant.

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Sunshine Tour: Suncoast Classic

Site: Durban Country Club – Durban, South Africa
Yards: 6,736   Par: 72
Defending: Jake Roos 210   (beat O. Sandys in a playoff)
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Desvonde Botes, Darren Fichardt & Anton Haig.

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Elsewhere...
LET – S4C Wales Ladies Championship – Harlech, Wales
JLPGA – AXA Ladies – Hokkaido, Japan
Futures – Falls Auto Group Classic – London, KY
Nationwide – Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open – Wichita, KS
Euro Challenge – SK Golf Challenge – Vanajanlinna, Finland
Canadian - Roxul Jane Rogers Championship – Milton, Ontario
Euro Seniors – Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open – Bad Ragaz, Switzerland

PGA Tour: Buick Open

Winner: Tiger Woods 71-63-65-69   268   (beat three players by 3)
Site: Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club – Grand Blanc, MI

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS

European PGA Tour: Morevia Silesia Open

Winner: Oskar Henningsson 70-71-67-67   275   (beat S. Little & S. Webster by 2)
Site: Prosper Golf Resort – Celadna, Czech Republic

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS

Japan Tour: Sun Chlorella Classic

Winner: Ryo Ishikawa 65-68-71-67   271   (beat B. Jones by 1)
Site: Otaru Country Club – Hokkaido, Japan

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS

Asian Tour: Brunei Open

Winner: Darren Beck 71-67-68-65   271   (beat G. Bhullar & B. Ruangkit in a playoff)
Site: Empire Hotel & Country Club – Begawan, Brunei

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS

LPGA Tour: RICOH Women’s British Open

Winner: Catriona Matthew 74-67-71-73   285   (beat K. Webb by 3)
Site: Royal Lytham & St Anne’s Golf Club – St Anne’s, England

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS

Champions Tour: U.S. Senior Open

Winner: Fred Funk   68-67-68-65   268   (beat J. Sindelar by 6)
Site: Crooked Stick Golf Club – Carmel, IN

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS

Elsewhere...
LET – RICOH Women’s British Open – See Above
Futures – Alliance Bank Golf Classic – Jenny Suh  201  (Story)
Nationwide – Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational – Derek Lamely  273  (Story)
Euro Challenge – Scottish Hydro Challenge – Jamie McLeary 276 (Story)
Euro Seniors – U.S. Senior Open – See above

PGA Tour: Buick Open

Site: Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club – Grand Blanc, MI
Yards: 7,127   Par: 72
Defending: Kenny Perry   269   (beat W. Austing & B. Watson by 1)
Field: World Top 20: Tiger Woods (1) & Jim Furyk (10)   Other Notables: Paul Azinger, John Daly, David Duval, Lee Janzen, Danny Lee, Corey Pavin.

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European PGA Tour: Moravia Silesia Open

Site: Prosper Golf Resort – Celadna, Czech Republic
Meters: 6,504   Par: 72
Defending: New Event
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: David Howell, Miguel Angel Jimenez, James Kingston & Thomas Levet.

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Japan Tour: Sun Chlorella Classic

Site: Otaru Country Club – Hokkaido, Japan
Yards: 7,535   Par: 72
Defending: Takuya Taniguchi   284   (beat H. Tanihara by 1)
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Ryo Ishikawa, Toshi Izawa, Shingo Katayama & Shigeki Maruyama.

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Asian Tour: Brunei Open

Site: Empire Hotel & Country Club – Begawan, Brunei
Yards: 7,013   Par: 71
Defending: Rick Kulacz   271   (beat W.T. Lu in a playoff)
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: James Kamte, Seung-Yul Noh & Thaworn Wiratchant.

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LPGA Tour: RICOH Women’s British Open

Site: Royal Lytham & St Anne’s Golf Club – St Anne’s, England
Yards: 6,492   Par: 72
Defending: Jiyai Shin   270   (beat Y. Tseng by 3)
Field: World Top 20: The entire Rolex top 20   Other Notables: All who are physically able.

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Champions Tour: U.S. Senior Open

Site: Crooked Stick Golf Club – Carmel, IN
Yards: 7,300   Par: 72
Defending: Eduardo Romero   274   (beat F. Funk by 4)
Field: Ranked: The entire Charles Schwab Cup top 20 except Michael Allen (6) & Nick Price (8)   Other Notables: All who are physically able.

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Elsewhere...
LET – RICOH Women’s British Open – St Anne’s, England
Futures – Alliance Bank Golf Classic – Syracuse, NY
Nationwide – Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational – Columbus, OH
Euro Challenge – Scottish Hydro Challenge – Aviemore, Scotland
Euro Seniors – U.S. Senior Open – Carmel, IN

PGA Tour: RBC Canadian Open

Winner: Nathan Green 68-65-69-68   270   (beat R. Goosen in a playoff)
Site: Glen Abbey Golf Club - Oakville, Ontario

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


European PGA Tour: SAS Masters

Winner: Ricardo Gonzalez 68-68-77-69   282   (beat J. Donaldson by 2)
Site: Barseback Golf & Country Club – Malmo, Sweden

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Japan Tour: Sega Sammy Cup

Winner: Hiroyuki Fujita 69-68-69-66   272   (beat K. Odoki by 1)
Site: North Country Club Hokkaido, Japan

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Asian Tour: Indonesia President Invitational

Winner: Gaganjeet Bhullar 69-68-62-67   266   (beat A. Blythe by 2)
Site: Damai Inda Golf Club (BSD course) - Serpong, Indonesia

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


LPGA Tour: Evian Masters

Winner: Ai Miyazato 69-66-70-69   274   (beat S. Gustafson in a playoff)
Site: Evian Masters Golf Club – Evian-les-Bains, France

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Champions Tour: Senior Open Championship

Winner: Loren Roberts 66-68-67-67   268   (beat F. Funk & M. McNulty in a playoff)
Site: Sunningdale Golf Club (Old course) – Sunningdale, England

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Elsewhere...
LET – Evian Masters – See Above
Futures – USI Championship – Misun Cho 206 (Story)
Nationwide – Cox Classic – Rich Barcelo 264 (Story)
Euro Challenge – SWALEC Wales Challenge – Rhys Davies 286 (Story)
Canadian – RBC Canadian Open – See Above
Euro Seniors - Senior Open Championship – See Above

It’s a cruel game.

Always has been, always will be – but come on!

For 71½ out of 72 holes, 59-year-old Tom Watson cheated time, history, the elements and our fundamental sense of what was humanly possible, only to come up inches shy in the end. It was, for many, the most heartbreaking thing we’ve ever witnessed in the game – and while I wasn’t of age to see Hogan’s watery demise at the 71st hole of the 1960 U.S. Open, Roberto de Vicenzo’s scorecard problems at Augusta, or one or two other moments of epic sadness, it’s hard to imagine that any of them would have left us as disconsolate as this.

Watson was just astonishingly good, his swing looking as crisply aggressive as ever, his putting stroke greatly resembling that which carried him to world-dominating heights in the late 1970's and early 1980's – at least for 71¾ holes. His undoing at the last might have seemed a bit less sad had it been the result of finally caving in beneath the suffocating pressure – had he, perhaps, badly hooked his tee ball into trouble, or fanned his approach wildly into the grandstand. But instead, stuck between an 8 or a 9 iron, Watson bet that if he missed, trickling off the back edge beat coming up short of the green, or facing the sort of monster two-putt that Lee Westwood had failed to execute just a few minutes earlier. His 8 iron was pure enough – too pure, in fact – and one big bounce and a bit of roll later, he faced a cuppy lie along the collar, and perhaps the saddest five in the history of the game.

There will be many things recalled from this truly remarkable Open Championships, but what resonates the most may simply be the lesson Watson provided regarding the tenacity, the character – the sheer guts – that the truly great champions possess. He did, after all, struggle mightily in the early going on Friday (at one point recording four straight front nine bogies), then again through the middle holes on Saturday, and during the opening hour on Sunday. Yet each time, when even his most ardent supporters surely felt the end was near, he rallied remarkably, seemingly willing himself back atop the leaderboard with a brand of golf that genuinely did feel the equal of his best 1980s stuff. It was as though Watson had dug his teeth into the Claret Jug on Thursday and, in a manner unattainable to all but a very precious few, simply would not let go. It was as resolute a golfing performance as we shall ever see, and one destined to be talked about for decades, if not centuries.

In the realm of conjecture, a Watson victory would have re-framed the record book in a great many ways, the most obvious being that Harry Vardon would finally be joined in that very rare club of men who can arrange six Claret Jugs atop their personal letterhead. But beyond this, and the somewhat quirky fact that neither player ever won at St. Andrews, there is another interesting thread that ties Watson to Vardon:

Contrary to what was just sort of assumed this past week, there actually is precedent for so old a competitor having a real chance to win a Major championship, for in 1920, a then-50-year-old Vardon(in real terms, essentially the equal of Watson’s current 59) very nearly pulled it off at the U.S. Open, leading through 63 holes at Inverness before ultimately finishing one behind his fellow Jerseyman Ted Ray.

It was every bit as remarkable a feat then as it was in 2009, at Turnberry.

And what can we say of Stewart Cink, who holed the clutchest of birdie putts at the 72nd just to make Watson’s closing eight-footer relevant, then played rock-solid golf over the four-hole playoff? An affable and well-liked sort, Cink not only faced the unenviable task of playing off before a golf world that was 99.9% against him, but also of knowing that his moment in the sun will always, inevitably, be remembered as “Watson’s Open.” So here’s hoping that Cink wins another Major one of these days, allowing him the chance to more fully bask in the glory he most certainly earned.

But in the end, Turnberry 2009 will forever be remembered for Tom Watson’s surreal run, a performance which had some speaking of “the greatest achievement in the history of sports” had he managed to pull it off. Such is extremely tall praise and, regardless, was rendered moot in the end. But I will say this:

If golf is played professionally for 200 more years, and the average human lifespan reaches 150, somebody, someday will likely win a Major championship at age 59. But it’s not going to happen in my lifetime, because yesterday was its one-in-a-million, it-can’t-possibly-happen, Hollywood-wouldn’t-even-believe-it chance.

In the end, the already immortal Tom Watson came within a whisker of achieving a sort of immortality that would have completely reshaped the world’s sporting paradigm.

It’s a cruel game indeed.