PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Y.E. Yang was first to finish at last year's Honda Classic.

This time, he finished first.

Alone in front the whole way yesterday, Yang shot a 2-under 68 to end up one shot ahead of John Rollins and pick up his first PGA Tour victory.

Yang took command with three straight birdies on the front side and wouldn't fold, picking up a two-year exemption and a check for $1,008,000. With the win — his eighth worldwide — he qualified for this week's CA Championship at Doral, plus earned an invitation to next month's Masters.

"This win is the biggest of my career," Yang said.

Yang played last year's final round at PGA National by himself, going off first and needing only 1 hour, 53 minutes to finish.

He was there until the very end this time, pumping his fist in the air when his 50-footer for birdie stopped a foot away from the cup, sealing the victory. He finished at 9-under 271.

For a guy whose claim to fame was beating Tiger Woods at the 2006 HSBC Champions in Shanghai, it was a moment to savor.

"Pure emotion," Yang said. "I just felt all the fans were supporting me. I just wanted to thank them."

Rollins made birdie at the par-5 18th to get within two shots of Yang, who was one hole behind and in a greenside bunker at the par-3 17th. And when Yang's 10-footer for par tailed right and stopped short, the lead — four shots earlier in the day — was down to one.

He cringed when his third shot sailed off target at the finishing hole, but coolly two-putted.

"From 50 feet, it's not easy to do that to win your first golf tournament," Rollins said. "My hat's off to him."

Rollins (67) was alone in second. Ben Crane (68) was third after finishing 6 under and Jeff Klauk (71, with 17 pars and one bogey) was alone in fourth, another shot back.

"I have no complaints," Rollins said. "Shot 3 under on championship Sunday and came up short."

He was one of the few who made a lasting charge at Yang.

Robert Allenby started with two birdies in his first three holes, but struggled from there and finished 4 under, tied for fifth with Will MacKenzie (70), Fredrik Jacobson (70) and Scott Piercy (65).

Just like last year, when he was in contention during the Honda's final round before chipping onto a waterside pile of rocks and tossing his ball into the drink, Mark Calcavecchia's chances were all wet again.

The two-time Honda winner's undoing came at the 11th, when he hit into a greenside hazard. He rolled up his right pant leg, hacked the ball out of some muck and salvaged a bogey, but got no closer and shot 73.

Yang's introduction to golf came when he took a job on a driving range as a 19-year-old and didn't break 100 the first time he played. He didn't even know there was such a thing as a touring golf pro until after serving 18 months as an armed guard in the South Korean Army.

Now, the son of vegetable farmers is a PGA Tour winner. And this week, he gets to play alongside Woods once again.

"To be able to face Tiger again and again, it's an honor for me," Yang said.

LPGA TOUR

SINGAPORE — South Korean star Jiyai Shin won the HSBC Women's Champions for her fourth LPGA Tour victory in eight months.

Shin shot her second straight 6-under 66 yesterday for a two-stroke victory over Australia's Katherine Hull.

The 20-year-old Shin, five strokes behind Hull at the start of the round and four back with nine holes to play, had an 11-under 277 total at Tanah Merah and earned $300,000 for her first victory as a member of the LPGA Tour.

Angela Park (68), Paula Creamer (70) and SBS Open winner Angela Stanford (73) tied for third at 8 under.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Eduardo Romero shot a 3-under 68 yesterday to win the Toshiba Classic by one stroke over Joey Sindelar and Mark O'Meara.

Romero finished at 11-under 202 and earned $255,000 for his fifth career Champions Tour victory.

Sindelar had the best round of the day at 8-under 63.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — New Zealand's Steve Alker won the New Zealand PGA Championship, closing with his second straight 5-under 67 yesterday for a two-stroke victory over countrymen Josh Geary and David Smail.

Alker, a stroke behind American Steve Friesen at the start of the round, shot 15-under 273 in the tournament also sanctioned by the Australasian tour.

Friesen, in his first full season on the Nationwide Tour, finished in a tie for seventh at 72—277.