South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak got up before sunrise to watch Yang become the first player to defeat Woods at a major in which the American held a lead entering the last round and his office confirmed he telephoned Yang to offer his congratulations.

CNN: South Korea president honors Yang's U.S. PGA win

Yang had originally wanted a separate consumer business division to lead the charge, according to Grabe, but Amelio argued that that might undermine the geographic heads.

FORBES: Not East or West