Golf-Yang wary of teasing the Tiger in Shanghai

By Nick Mulvenney

SHANGHAI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Yang Yong-eun is wary of a Tiger Woods backlash after beating the world number one into second place to win the PGA Championship in August and become Asia’s first major winner.

Yang’s victory at Hazeltine followed a similar win three years earlier at the HSBC Champions and the South Korean and Woods have both returned to Shanghai this week for the fifth version of the $7 million tournament.

“With Tiger, I don’t want to push my luck any further. I know that Tiger is at his peak condition right now. He’s been rested,” Yang told reporters at Asia’s first WGC event on Wednesday.

“I’ve been lucky once and I don’t want to push my luck. I’m going to push myself as I always do and I’m going to be oblivious of all of the other players and just try to play my game.”

Yang has been in great demand since his breakthrough victory at Hazeltine and said his frame of mind was very different to how he felt when he sprang from nowhere to beat Woods in 2006.

“Now, there’s a little bit more pressure I guess,” added the 37-year-old.

“I’m not as relaxed as I was back in ’06. Maybe it’s because Tiger is here. Maybe it’s because I’ve been through a lot of tournaments. Maybe it’s because of the stress finally trickling down. I don’t know.

“But I’m trying to take it as just an ordinary tournament and hopefully I can find my calm and I can relax again and I can play my game.”

Yang said sitting with runner-up Woods at the awards ceremony had been one of the highlights of his 2006 victory and was at a loss to find a weakness in the American’s game.

“The focus level is just unbelievable,” he said. “He focuses so well that he brings everything to his pace. Everything just comes at his pace. Even the players next to him have to run at his pace.”

Yang’s title defence at the Sheshan International Golf Club in 2007 could not have gone worse after he was disqualified for signing for the wrong score in his third round.

He is sure, therefore, to be watching his scorecard carefully when he tees off with world number two Phil Mickelson and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy on Thursday.

(Editing by Alison Wildey

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