20-year-old South Korean Gunn Yang is a sophomore golfer at San Diego State University. He won the U.S. Amateur title on Sunday, which he says was his first tournament victory in over five years.
Yang was ranked 776th in the world, according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He made history becoming the lowest-ranked player to capture the title after beating out five players inside the top 100, including Corey Conners (ranked No. 44) in the 36-hole final. Yang bested 6,803 entrants and then the 312 qualifiers who competed to play in the 64-man match-play bracket.
"When I made it to match play, I told myself that maybe I can do this," said Yang, in this GolfChannel.com article. "I was just trying to go through every single match and trying to play my game and see how it goes. And I got the trophy." He never trailed during the championship match.
Yang struggled mightily prior to the U.S. Amateur event. His game has been so poor as of late that his college coach at San Diego State revoked his scholarship. He only played in four college events this year before undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back. He withdrew from the California State Open just three weeks ago after shooting six-over through nine holes. But now Yang will be invited to participate in the PGA's Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open Championship, and the British Open Championship in 2015.
The 20-year-old was confident enough in his game to participate in the event, but he was realistic about his chances.
"I didn't want to make my luggage too heavy," he added, after telling reporters he packed lightly in preparation for the tournament, in this GolfChannel.com article.
Yank knocked off a number of notable amateurs, including top junior golfer Cameron Young, former Georgia Tech All-American Seth Reeves, another surprise story in Frederick Wedel (No. 619 in the world), and Ollie Schniederjans, the World's No. 1 ranked amateur. The South Korean has much to look forward to after hoisting the Havemeyer Trophy.
