By winning the 2009 PGA Championship who became the first Asian to win a major golf tournament?
"Hisako Higuchi Hisako ""Chako"" Higuchi (, born 13 October 1945 in Kawagoe, Saitama) is a Japanese professional golfer. Higuchi won the LPGA Championship on 12 June 1977, making her the first Asian-born player to win a major championship for either men or women. (No Asian-born player would win a men's major until Yang Yong-eun won the 2009 PGA Championship.) She remains the only Japanese woman to win an LPGA major championship. Alongside Ayako Okamoto, she dominated the 1970s and 1980s in Japanese women's golf. Higuchi studied golf from Torakichi Nakamura, a member of Japan's winning team at the 1957 World"
"Yang Yong-eun Yang Yong-eun (, ; born 15 January 1972), or Y. E. Yang, is a South Korean professional golfer currently playing on the PGA Tour, where he has won twice, including most notably the 2009 PGA Championship where he came from behind to defeat Tiger Woods. He is the only Asian-born man to have won a major championship. In 2006 he won the Korea Open, an Asian Tour event, gaining him entry into the HSBC Champions Tournament in November 2006. He won the tournament, beating a strong field including runner-up Tiger Woods. The victory earned him membership of the"
"have revolutionized the way the sport is played. This was known as the ""Filipino Invasion"" which was participated by various Filipino players including Hall of Famers Efren ""The Magician"" Reyes and Francisco Bustamante. Few Asian male golf players have claimed wins in the PGA Tour or European Tour. The most successful ones have been K. J. Choi, who has eight PGA Tour wins, a third place at the 2004 Masters Tournament and three appearances at the Presidents Cup, and Yang Yong-eun, who won the 2009 PGA Championship. In contrast, several Asian female golf players have claimed major tournament wins, most"
"PGA Championship. With a round to play, both player of the season Mark O'Meara and 1997's sensation Tiger Woods are within five shots of the lead, but Singh holds on for victory. Singh, an Indian Fijian, becomes the second golfer of Asian descent to win a men's major. Se Ri Pak becomes the first South Korean on the LPGA Tour and makes an immediate impact, winning two majors (the LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open) and two other events. She proved to be only the first of a wave of Korean players on the tour; a decade after her arrival"
"to the HSBC Champions since 2005, which has grown in status to become a World Golf Championship event in 2009. PGA Tour players such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, and Lee Westwood have all participated in this tournament, making this not only the biggest golf event in Asia, but also one of the biggest golf events in the world. 2013 marked the first time that the WGC-HSBC Champions was both an official European Tour and PGA Tour event with an elevated prize purse of US $8.5 million, the highest in East Asia. Established in 2004, Sheshan International Golf"
"Cup of Golf. She turned pro in 1967 and went on to win 69 titles on the LPGA of Japan Tour. She was 31 when she won her LPGA Championship. Higuchi became President of the LPGA of Japan Tour in 1996. In 2003, she became the first Japanese golfer to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. LPGA Tour playoff record (0–1) Hisako Higuchi Hisako ""Chako"" Higuchi (, born 13 October 1945 in Kawagoe, Saitama) is a Japanese professional golfer. Higuchi won the LPGA Championship on 12 June 1977, making her the first Asian-born player to win a"
"from major championships and World Golf Championships are counted towards the Order of Merit, but are not shown below. There is a complete list on the official site here. 2009 Asian Tour The 2009 Asian Tour was the 15th season of the modern Asian Tour, the main men's professional golf tour in Asia excluding Japan, since it was established in 1995. Prize money for the season exceeded US$39 million and Thongchai Jaidee topped the Order of Merit for the third time with US$981,932. The table below shows the 2009 schedule. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the"
"Ariya Jutanugarn Ariya Jutanugarn (, , ; born 23 November 1995) is a Thai professional golfer who plays on the American-based LPGA Tour. She was born in Bangkok. She is the first golfer, male or female, from Thailand to win a major championship. She became the number one ranked golfer in the Women's World Golf Rankings in June 2017. Jutanugarn has an older sister, Moriya, who is also a professional golfer. Their parents are father Somboon and mother Narumon and they have four older half-siblings through their father. The two sisters often play matches together and travel with their parents,"
"2009 Asian Tour The 2009 Asian Tour was the 15th season of the modern Asian Tour, the main men's professional golf tour in Asia excluding Japan, since it was established in 1995. Prize money for the season exceeded US$39 million and Thongchai Jaidee topped the Order of Merit for the third time with US$981,932. The table below shows the 2009 schedule. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Asian Tour events he had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Asian Tour members. Only 50% of the prize money"
"the United States, and therefore has a much more traditional golfing pedigree). Chia represented Malaysia in the WGC-World Cup in 2001 and 2002. ""Note: Chia only played in The Open Championship.""<br> CUT = missed the half-way cut<br> ""T"" = tied Professional Danny Chia Danny Chia (born 29 November 1972) is a Malaysian professional golfer. Chia was the leading Malaysian amateur in the mid-1990s and turned professional in 1996. He plays on the Asian Tour, where he won the 2002 Taiwan Open. He was the first Malaysian to win on the Tour. He has also won several lower profile professional tournaments"
"the Japan Golf Tour. Since 2008, 50 percent of players' earnings from the US Open and The Open Championship have counted towards the Asian Tour's Order of Merit. The two Opens were singled out from the other majors because they have open qualifying which Asian Tour members may enter. Asia's richest event, the HSBC Champions, was first played in November 2005 with a prize fund of $5 million. The tournament is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the earnings were counted towards the money list for its first three years before it became a World Golf Championships event in 2009."
"Mercuries Taiwan Masters and leading the Order of Merit. Green is of Portuguese, Irish and Chinese descent. Source: ""T"" = Tied<br> Amateur Professional Gavin Green Gavin Kyle Green (born 28 December 1993) is a Malaysian professional golfer. Green played college golf at the University of New Mexico where he won eight times and was a multiple-time All-American and Mountain West Conference golfer of the year. Green won three-time winner on the Asian Development Tour, once in 2014 as an amateur and twice in 2016. He qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics and finished in 47th place. Green played on the"
"Shanshan Feng Shanshan Feng (, ; born 5 August 1989) is a Chinese professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She is the first player from China to become a member of the LPGA Tour, which she joined in 2008. Feng has nine victories on the tour, including the 2012 LPGA Championship, a major title, in which she shot a bogey-free 67 in the final round to win by two strokes. She is the first player from China to win an LPGA major championship, as well as the first player from mainland China (male or female) to win"
"first Asian golfer to claim a World Golf Championship since the series was inaugurated in 1999. With the victory, Matsuyama rose to number 6 in the Official World Golf Ranking, his highest position and the second highest ever by a Japanese player after Masashi Ozaki, who achieved a ranking of fifth. He later moved up to fifth in the world after the Farmers Insurance Open. On 13 November 2016, Matsuyama won his second Taiheiyo Masters, following his victory as a 19-year-old amateur in 2011. He romped to a seven-shot win over South Korea's Song Young-han. On 4 December 2016, Matsuyama"
"K. J. Choi Choi Kyung-Ju (, ; born 19 May 1970), commonly known as K. J. Choi, is a South Korean professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. Since turning pro in 1994, he has won more than twenty professional golf tournaments worldwide, including eight on the PGA Tour, making him Asia's most successful golfer. His most notable victory came at the 2011 Players Championship, and he has spent 40 weeks in the top-10 of the world rankings. Choi turned professional in 1994 after fulfilling his military obligation. After establishing his career on the Korean Tour, where he"
"Presidents Cup. Other Indians who have won the Asian Tour Order of Merit are Jyoti Randhawa in 2002 (the first Indian to achieve this) and Arjun Atwal, who went on in 2010 to become the first India-born player to become a member of the US-based PGA Tour and win the 2010 Wyndham Championship. In golf at the Asian Games, India's men's golf team won gold at the 1982 Asian Games and silver at the 2006 Asian Games. Lakshman Singh won the individual gold at the 1982 Asian Games. There are numerous golf courses all over India. There is a Professional"
"background for top-10. <nowiki>*</nowiki> as of the 2018 season Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year. Professional Ariya Jutanugarn Ariya Jutanugarn (, , ; born 23 November 1995) is a Thai professional golfer who plays on the American-based LPGA Tour. She was born in Bangkok. She is the first golfer, male or female, from Thailand to win a major championship. She became the number one ranked golfer in the Women's World Golf Rankings in June 2017. Jutanugarn has an older sister, Moriya, who is also a professional golfer. Their parents are father Somboon and"
"not already exempt from the money list up to the Japan Golf Tour Championship, and the top four non-exempt players from the Mizuno Open. The official prize money list on the Japan Golf Tour includes money won by members in the majors and the World Golf Championships events. Through 2009, all of the players who have topped the money list were Japanese nationals, except for the Japanese American David Ishii, but Korean Kim Kyung-tae became the first golfer with non-Japanese origin to top the money list in 2010. The following players have won more than one money list title through"
"his first major championship, overcoming a two-shot deficit going into the final round to finish three strokes ahead of Woods, his playing partner. The victory was the first major championship for a male player born in Asia, surpassing the runners-up finishes achieved by Lu Liang-Huan in the 1971 Open Championship, Isao Aoki in the 1980 U.S. Open and Chen Tze-chung in the 1985 U.S. Open. The previous best finish by a Korean was Choi's 3rd place in the 2004 Masters Tournament. It was also the first time that Woods had failed to win a major after holding at least a"
"European Tour and moved him into the top 40 of the Official World Golf Ranking. In 2008 he played on the PGA Tour after earning his card through qualifying school; he had to regain his tour card in 2009 after placing 157th on the money list in 2008. Yang won his first title on the PGA Tour at the 2009 Honda Classic in his 46th career start in the United States. With this win, he became only the second Korean after K. J. Choi to win on the PGA Tour. On 16 August 2009, Yang won the 91st PGA Championship,"
"in the 2002 PGA Championship as Beem, Robert Allenby, and Justin Leonard all shot 66 (six under par) during the second round. In 2006 the course hosted the U.S. Amateur, which was won by Richie Ramsay of Scotland by defeating John Kelly of USA with a score of 4 & 2. Hazeltine again played host to the PGA Championship in 2009. The tournament was won by Y.E. Yang of South Korea. Yang prevailed by three strokes over Tiger Woods, who had led by two going into Sunday. Yang's victory was significant, as it was the first men's major won by"
"major championships and World Golf Championships are counted towards the Order of Merit, but are not shown below. There is a complete list on the official site here. 2010 Asian Tour The 2010 Asian Tour was the 16th season of the modern Asian Tour, the main men's professional golf tour in Asia excluding Japan, since it was established in 1995. Prize money for the season exceeded US$43 million and teenager Noh Seung-yul became the youngest Order of Merit winner with US$822,361. The table below shows the 2010 schedule. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of"
"Thongchai Jaidee Thongchai Jaidee (; , born 8 November 1969) is a Thai professional golfer who plays on the Asian Tour and the European Tour. On the Asian Tour, he holds the record for the most career earnings and is second in victories having won 13 times. He has won the Order of Merit on the Asian Tour three times during his career. Jaidee was the first man to win US$2 million, US$3 million, US$4 million, and US$5 million on the Asian Tour in prize money. Jaidee did not start playing golf until he was sixteen, and he later went"
"win also gave him a two-year exemption on that tour. DNP = Did not play<br> WD = withdrew<br> CUT = missed the half-way cut<br> ""T"" = tied<br> Yellow background for top-10. Anthony Kang Anthony Kang (born November 30, 1972) is a Korean-American professional golfer. Kang was born in South Korea, moving to live in the United States at the age of 10, where he attended Oregon State University. Kang turned professional in 1996. He has been a member of the Asian Tour since 1998 where he has won over a million US dollars in prize money. Kang has had three"
"years at the Dubai Open on the Asian Tour. The win earned Atwal a two-year exemption on the Asian Tour. PGA Tour playoff record (0–1) European Tour playoff record (1–1) CUT = missed the half-way cut Professional Arjun Atwal Arjun Singh Atwal (born 20 March 1973) is an Indian professional golfer who has played on the Asian Tour and the European Tour and is the first player born in India to become a member of, and later win a tournament on the U.S.-based PGA Tour. Born in a Sikh family to Harminder Singh Atwal (a well known industrialist) of Asansol"
"""Tank"" by South Koreans. PGA Tour playoff record (1–0) CUT = missed the half-way cut<br> ""T"" = tied QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play<br> ""T"" = Tied<br> Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009. Professional K. J. Choi Choi Kyung-Ju (, ; born 19 May 1970), commonly known as K. J. Choi, is a South Korean professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. Since turning pro in 1994, he has won more than twenty professional golf tournaments worldwide, including eight on the PGA Tour, making"
"the record for most consecutive Asian Championships, having won four times in a row on two separate occasions, including the four most recent tournaments to be held. In all four Asian Games to include baseball, Japan have placed in the top 3 in every tournament, though they have only won the tournament once in the first event held in Hiroshima in 1994. Japan won the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic, defeating Cuba in the Final. Japan also won the 2009 World Baseball Classic, hosting the Pool A games in the Tokyo Dome. Japan started the tournament opener with a 4–0"
"Anthony Kang Anthony Kang (born November 30, 1972) is a Korean-American professional golfer. Kang was born in South Korea, moving to live in the United States at the age of 10, where he attended Oregon State University. Kang turned professional in 1996. He has been a member of the Asian Tour since 1998 where he has won over a million US dollars in prize money. Kang has had three victories on the Asian Tour, the most recent coming at the 2009 Maybank Malaysian Open, eight years after the previous one. The tournament was co-sanctioned with the European Tour, and the"
"breaking the previous record of 19 years 5 months set by Robert A. Gardner in 1909. In 2008, New Zealander Danny Lee became the youngest ever winner, only to be eclipsed by 17-year-old An Byeong-hun the following year. Before the professional game became dominant, the event was regarded as one of the majors. This is no longer the case, but the champion still receives an automatic invitation to play in all of the majors except the PGA Championship. In addition, the runner-up also receives an invitation to play in the Masters and the U.S. Open. However, the golfers must maintain"
"Danny Chia Danny Chia (born 29 November 1972) is a Malaysian professional golfer. Chia was the leading Malaysian amateur in the mid-1990s and turned professional in 1996. He plays on the Asian Tour, where he won the 2002 Taiwan Open. He was the first Malaysian to win on the Tour. He has also won several lower profile professional tournaments in Malaysia and elsewhere. In 2002, Chia became the second Malaysian to play in The Open Championship (and the first from a mainstream Malaysian background; his predecessor Iain Steel has a Scottish father, and attended school in Scotland and college in"
"the Asian Tour, upon the tour having been reconstituted in 2004 after having been taken over by the players themselves. Kyi is given credit for having overseen the rapid growth of the Asian Tour. Kyi Hla Han Kyi Hla Han (, ; born 13 February 1961) is a former professional golfer from Myanmar and the current executive chairman of the Asian Tour. Kyi Hla Han turned professional in 1980. He recorded his first professional win at the 1983 Malaysian PGA Championship. He played on the Asian Tour from its debut season in 1995 until 2004. In 1999 he was the"
"notable Inbee Park (seven), Se Ri Pak (five), Yani Tseng (five) and Jiyai Shin (two). Notable men's golf tournaments in Asia are the WGC-HSBC Champions (China), CIMB Classic (Malaysia), the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (United Arab Emirates). Meanwhile, the most notable women's golf tournaments in Asia are the LPGA KEB–Hana Bank Championship (South Korea), Blue Bay LPGA (China), Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia and Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship. Motorsport is popular in Japan. The country has hosted several international races, such as the Japanese Grand Prix (Formula One), 6 Hours of Fuji (FIA World Endurance Championship), Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix"
"Wu Ashun Wu Ashun (born 22 June 1985) is a Chinese professional golfer. He has won three times on the European Tour and twice on the Japan Golf Tour. Wu played on the Asian Tour in 2008 and 2009. His best finish was T-4 at the 2009 Singha Thailand Open. Wu played on the Japan Golf Tour in 2010 and from 2012 to 2015. He won his first title in September 2012 at the Toshin Golf Tournament in Ryosen. He was the first golfer from China to win on the Japan Golf Tour. He also played on the OneAsia Tour,"