Y.E. Yang's Life is Changing

This was supposed to do it. Y.E. Yang wins the PGA Championship, over Tiger Woods of all "people," and the floodgates were supposed to open.

Sure, Yang had won tournaments before, but this wasn't just any tournament. You win the Honda Classic on the American soil, and that's one thing. You take down the greatest golfer of our generation, and possibly ever, in a major championship he's leading after 54 holes, and that is quite another. So, what has happened to Yang, the man that was supposed to bring golf to a whole other planet with his significant victory at Hazeltine National just three weeks ago?

So far, a fair amount.

Forget the fact that South Korea set their alarms for 4 AM the morning Yang won the PGA Championship, hoping to catch their countryman do something that nobody from that area has ever done. Look past the fact that Yang mentioned he slept around 20 hours the entire week following his major championship victory because he was trying to fulfill all the media requests that were coming his way.

Maybe this moment best describes the type of status we can now expect from the Tiger-conqueror. Out in Carlsbad, Calif. after the win, working with some guys from Taylor-Made, Yang was approached by George W. Bush on the putting green.

The two made some small talk, with Bush asked him the million dollar question.

"He asked me whether it was nerve-racking to play with Tiger for 18 holes, especially on the 18th hole," Yang said. "And before I could answer, he said it must have been less nerve-racking than his eight years in office."

That is Y.E. Yang, post PGA. He's the face of a continent that has already spent years conquering the LPGA Tour. Sure, players like K.J. Choi, Shigeki Maruyama, Shingo Katayama have had success on the PGA Tour, but nobody has broke through in a big way, winning one of the marquee events over the biggest name in arguably the entire sports world.

Now, the Asian golf world isn't just a collection of random wins and the funny Cowboy hat of Katayama. They're real players, who will continue to succeed and do great things for golf on a global scale. Take this quote from South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, who was one of the many fans in the country to wake up early to see Yang make history.

"I woke up at dawn today to watch the broadcast, and you played in a calm manner,'' Lee told Yang, according to Lee's office. "First of all, you enhanced our people's morale by winning the major title for the first time as an Asian.''

The coming months will mean a lot for Yang. After the FedEx Cup, he will be pulled in multiple directions by anyone and everyone that want a piece of the man that didn't take up golf until he was 19. They will be looking at him as a hero on the other side of the pond, someone that can play this game better than anyone in the world, and might be another win away from claiming the PGA Tour Player of the Year (argument, commence).

"In some ways, you could say that I was the party pooper to Tiger's long streak," Yang said. "I have the utmost respect for Tiger Woods, and I like him. He's cool. I like his swing. And there's a lot to learn from him, not just as a player, but as a person. ... We always agree that Tiger Woods has bettered the game of golf.

"I'm a bit sorry, but if I had to do it again, I would still try and win."

It's a good thing he won, because golf will now never be the same. Could Yang do to an Asian population what Tiger did to the inner-city workings of American youth? Time will quickly let us know.