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Y.E. Yang off to fast start

January 30, 2014

Co-leader after 1st round at Waste Management Phoenix Open  

Y.E. Yang got off to a fast start at the Phoenix Open.

Y.E. Yang got off to a fast start at the Phoenix Open.

Yang Yong-eun is showing signs of life.

Yang, better known in the United States as Y.E. Yang and the first and only Asian male player to win a major championship in golf history, fired a 7-under 64 at TPC Scottsdale early on Thursday to take the lead at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, along with Bubba Watson.

Seven players, including Kevin Stadler and Harris English, are only one shot behind.

This is typically a very low scoring event, as defending champion Phil Mickelson shot 28-under to win last year. The winning score was 15-under in 2012, and 18-under in 2011.

The 42-year old two-time winner on the PGA Tour had earned a five-year PGA Tour exemption at the 2009 PGA Championship, where he came from behind to defeat Tiger Woods, but that was more than four years ago. He hasn’t won since, and he is now in a position where he has to win another event, or finish in the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list or season money list.

Yang had no top-10 finishes and failed to make the cut in more than half of his starts last year, but he did receive a $38,023 check last week at the Farmers Insurance Open.