YE Yang

As part of Ballantine’s campaign about the importance of character in golf, we interviewed some of the biggest names in the game about the moments when true character has been revealed on the golf course. This month, Korean YE Yang, who memorably held off Tiger Woods at the 2008 US PGA Championship to become the first Asian winner of a major.

Yang believes nothing is impossible if you try hard

Rory McIlroy has now won two majors and is the World No 1. What are your thoughts on the character he showed to bounce back from last year's Masters collapse?

Rory suffered a major setback at the US Masters. He had been leading, and everybody – including the other players and people watching on TV – thought he was going to win. But on the very last day, he didn't play well and lost.

The fact that he lost so badly then won in the next major shows he has character and a strong will. That's the reason why he didn't fail again at the US Open. In some respects, I guess that because of his character he could reflect on his failure at the Masters in order to produce a good result at the US Open.

You were in the same group as McIlroy in the final round at the US Open. What did you learn from the way he handled himself?

Mostly, it made me wonder if could I do that if I was in his situation. I always train and practise hard for tournaments, but is it possible to achieve that character by practice? Or does it just come during the tournament itself?

In order to turn failures into victories, to escape from the slump and end with a good result, you need to try hard. Of course, you need to practise hard, but I think the important thing is your character.

When I watch majors, I think about a lot of things. Sport is like a drama without a script. When good players with strong characters play tournaments, they give good messages to people. It depends on the individuals, but in general good examples give good lessons to people. In my case, it would help me to have the confidence that I can achieve a good result even after such a bad situation.

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