"Few people who knew me well expected me to make it to 50."

Every week of the 2009 PGA Tour season, the editorial staff of the SI Golf Group will conduct an e-mail roundtable. Check in on Mondays for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors.

Jim Herre, editor, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus: Welcome to our weekly conversation, and raise your hand if you picked Y.E. Yang to win the final major of the year, the PGA Championship. I know one person who's happy tonight — our special guest, Ty Votaw, the PGA Tour executive who spearheaded golf's push to be included in the Olympics. A huge victory over Tiger Woods by a South Korean could be a game-changer in Asia and is just what the sport's Olympic effort needed. Would you agree, Ty?

Votaw: Absolutely. I just got off the telephone with the sponsor of our season opening event, the SBS Championship, and we were discussing what a historic week it has been for golf globally. Golf made the cut to potentially be added to the Olympics in 2016, and the men's game has its first Asian major winner.

Jim Gorant, senior editor, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus: It's certainly big, but I don't think it will have the same impact Se Ri Pak's first major win had on the women's game. Not as much opportunity in the men's game.

Damon Hack, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: I don't know, Se Ri Pak didn't beat Tiger Woods.

Farrell Evans, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: That's very true. He beat the man, head to head, playing from behind. Damn.

Cameron Morfit, senior writer, Golf Magazine: South Korea's mandatory two-year military commitment may be one reason why the pipeline doesn't open as much as it has on the women's side.

Votaw: If what you mean is that there won't be 46 South Koreans playing on the PGA Tour in 11 years time, you may be right, but Yang's win (along with the potential Olympic spot in 2016) could have a significant impact in other ways — investment in the development of the game, junior golf and overall interest in golf. No one sitting here tonight can predict exactly what that impact will be, but as my father used to say, "It is better than a sharp stick in the eye."

Dick Friedman, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: In terms of seismic shock — an Asian player beating Tiger in a major — this could have more ripples, especially in terms of awareness and marketing. Is this Asia's Francis Ouimet moment?

Evans: Golf in Asia was already big, but to have a man win a major could take it to another level, as far as growing the game with the rest of the world.

Votaw: Not sure you can say "Golf in Asia was already big." Maybe so in Japan, where 8 percent of the population plays golf, and maybe in Korea, which has 46 players on the LPGA Tour. But in most other parts of Asia, and especially in China, golf is growing, but not big. In fact, golf in China is considered more of a leisure activity than it is a sport. Y.E. Yang's win and the Olympic news could change that perception overnight.

Hack: That 3-hybrid by Yang has to go down in history with Pavin, Micheel, you name it. How clutch was that shot? And to do it with the dude in the red shirt standing in the fairway, and to do it after three-putting the 71st? Amazing. Wow. Double wow.

Morfit: He said he had nothing to lose and would play all-out, and he really did. All credit.

Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Gotta give it up to Yang. He played well and didn't wilt. That hybrid into 18 is the shot of his life. But the real story is that Tiger Woods let him win. If Tiger simply shoots one under par in the final round, he wins. Tiger putted poorly, and he said so. He said he thought he hit it great, but I think his memory is a little selective there. He didn't look anything like the guy who played the first 36 holes. I wonder if prematurely going to the prevent defense during Saturday's round hurt his momentum. He never got it back today and never got the putter working. All hail Yang, but if Tiger simply plays dead today, he wins. For the first time ever when he had the lead, he couldn't do it.

David Dusek, deputy editor, Golf.com: This has also got to be extremely encouraging for Tiger's week-to-week rivals, because they have never seen him crack. He's always, always come through. But a bogey-bogey finish on Sunday at a major to lose to Yang should give them reason to keep fighting. They can now believe that they can beat him too.

Michael Bamberger, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Tiger's bogey-bogey finish, while shocking, didn't really matter. Even with two pars he's a shot out. The story here is that a 72-hole golf tournament finally identified somebody who could play his game in the face of Tiger Woods. Tiger blamed his putter in the tent. From his perspective, sure, but Y.E. Yang did a smack-down on this guy, something Ernie and the gang have never been able to manage. What a tournament, and what a game.

Herre: Wonder if Tiger's strategy of playing the extra week turned out to be a mistake? Winning three weeks in a row would be taxing on anyone, and Tiger looked out of sorts today. Maybe he was pooped.

Hack: I'm not buying it. Tiger got beat today. He didn't hit the shots (really, the putts) that he so often has. Yang outplayed him.

Morfit: In his press conference Tiger said more than once that he drove it great and hit his irons well but putted terribly (33 putts). But I'm with Gary. Is it me or did he just not look very sharp in any aspect this weekend?

Hack: It's not just you. His short game was not its usual snappy self. He really struggled with the chips and pitches the last two rounds.

Morfit: Everyone here at Hazeltine is in a state of shock. In the parking lot tonight, at least 100 people watched Woods load into his Buick. It's like we're all waiting for him to turn to the crowd and say, "Just kidding! That wasn't me! It was my stunt double!"

Evans: I think Tiger just putted poorly and got cute over too many approach shots during the round. All day he seemed to over-study every shot. Yang seemed more poised from the beginning than Tiger and less aware of the stage. He hit several drives without even taking a practice swing. Basically, he won the PGA with a ready-golf mentality.

Bamberger: Yep, that's what I saw, too, Farrell. I saw Yang live at both of his Tour wins this year. He was more relaxed-looking at Hazeltine than he was at the Honda.

Dusek: Feherty had the line of the day when he said that Tiger had tossed enough grass into the air studying the wind this week to sod a lawn.

Charlie Hanger, executive editor, Golf.com: No question Woods got too cute on several approaches, but in his defense, I think the conservative approach was the right one — he just didn't execute — and the wind appeared to be really tricky. Tiger said he hit that shot on 17 perfect, but the wind just didn't do what he expected.

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