I am really not gloating that Tiger Woods “choked” during the final Round of the PGA Championship this past weekend. At least I am trying not to gloat… I did not think I would ever see the word “choke” and Tiger Woods in the same sentence though. That is the very word that sports commentators are using today to describe his conduct during the final round of the tournament.

I am kind of excited to see a relatively unknown person on the tour win a major tournament. Y.E. Yang of South Korea edged out Tiger Woods in the PGA Championship. Yang did not even pick up a golf club until he was 19 years old. At age 21, he was serving in the South Korean Navy. He is ranked at #110 on the professional tour. This is what Yang had to say yesterday:

I don’t consider myself as a great golfer. I’m still more of the lower-than-average PGA Tour player. So my goal today was to just hit at least even [par], not go over par. I think probably that’s the different mindset.

I find this whole episode invigilating. I suspect golfers around the world feel the same way. Most of us like movies like Hoosiers and The Natural, because the underdog wins. His unexpected triumph tells us that underdogs win in real life, and not just on the big screen. Furthermore Yang’s victory in Minnesota yesterday is a reminder that humility really is a good quality.

Y.E. Yang’s cool headed demeanor under pressure stands in stark contrast to Tiger Wood’s cursing and lack of general self-control on the course. I am not the star student in the school of cool headedness, but I admire prominent people who show me what that virtue is supposed to look like. I hope this is not the last we have heard from South Korea’s newly found golf hero.

I am going to try really hard today not to gloat, but I sure do like underdogs! And I need to be reminded periodically that humility and self-control lead to more than one kind of victory…Today is my day off. I think I will head to the golf course. Maybe I will chip one in for an eagle today. Or maybe I will just try to work in being humble… No gloating: I promise!