In a year of spoilers at golf's major tournaments, Y.E. Yang was the biggest of all. He toppled the mighty Tiger Woods.

Y.E. Yang of South Korea celebrates after beating Tiger Woods (background) to win the PGA Championship on Aug. 16. AP PHOTO

Yang became the first Asian-born player (Vijay Singh is from Fiji, which is considered Oceania) to win a major Aug. 16 with a stunning performance in the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, memorable as much for his clutch shots as the player he beat.

Woods was 14-0 when he went into the final round of a major atop the leader board. He had not lost any tournament around the world in nine years when leading by two shots.

None of that mattered to Yang, a 37-year-old South Korean who hit the shots everyone expected from Woods. Leading by one on the final hole, Yang slew golf's giant with a hybrid 3-iron that cleared the bunker and settled 12 feet from the cup.

Yang made the birdie putt and shouted with joy as he pumped his fist. That gave him a 2-under 70, and a three-shot victory when Woods missed yet another short par putt and shot a 3-over 75.

His victory is massive for Asia, the fastest-growing market in golf. Perhaps even more significant is the way he stood up to Woods, the world's No. 1 player whose heritage is half-Asian through his Thai-born mother.

Yang and K.J. Choi are the only PGA Tour players who learned golf in South Korea before going to America. South Korean women have had far more success, with seven players combining to win 11 majors on the LPGA Tour. Se Ri Pak was the first to win a major, in 1998.

Yang's victory came four days after golf was recommended to become part of the Olympics in 2016.