Yang’s Houdini act

Korea’s Y.E. Yang completed a mission impossible at the Barclays Singapore Open on Saturday.

Yang, Asia’s first Major champion, birdied his final three holes of the second round in the morning to make the cut and then shot 66 in the afternoon to lie joint ninth, six shots behind leader Adam Scott of Australia.

He came close to pulling out of the tournament on Thursday with a neck injury but the delayed start bought him enough time for a physiotherapy treatment and a session in a hyperbaric air chamber and he made his tee time.

"I resumed my second round earlier this morning and I had three holes left and I was behind (the cut line) by three strokes so quite impossibly I was trying to make three birdies in a row," said the 2009 US PGA Championship winner.

"I thought it was not possible so I played without any reservation – I went for broke. At the 16th hole, I had a 35 or 40 footer. I did not think much about it, I just whacked at it and it dropped in. I said to myself ‘that is a bit too late’.

"On the 17th I had a similar length putt and miraculously it went in and then at the 18th I was trying to get that birdie. My second shot was quite accurate it came within three or four foot, which was a doable putt and I made it.

"So for the third round, I was down the field. I did not think much about it – I did not have much to lose. So I think just playing comfortably without any high expectations really helped my game today.

"I just tried to play aggressively, going for broke. That ease of mind helped my game out, I had no pressure whatsoever. It seemed like a different course today."

Yang, the highest world ranked Asian at number 37t, said that he had more mobility in his neck after intensive treatment.

"My neck is a lot better. The physiotherapists here have done a great job," he said.