Choi wins the Players Championship
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K.J.Choi won the Players Championship at Sawgrass in Florida, at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff, with David Toms.
Toms, who had led the tournament for much of the day, hit his tee shot at he infamous 17th hole, with its island green, to 19 feet. Choi was 40 feet away, and putted up to three feet. Toms then had a putt for victory, but hit it three and a half feet past. Then he missed!
To be fair, it wasn’t as easy as it looked, because the green was bumpy and it was uphill and into the grain. But, the American put a bad stroke on it, and hit it out of the toe of his putter.
“I just wasn’t there on that putt,” said Toms. “I was probably thinking ahead, and thinking about the next hole, and I just got up there and missed.”
Choi was also a magnanimous winner afterwards. “I felt very sorry for him,” he said. “I know how that feels.”
It was the end of a long day, which had started at 7.45 a.m. with the completion of the third round, which had been delayed on Saturday because of rain.
Both players, in their 40s, had been trying to end a long winless streak. Choi’s went back three years; while Toms hadn’t (and still hasn’t) won for five years.
Many have predicted that the dominance which the South Korean women enjoy on the LPGA will soon show itself on the PGA Tour. This may just be the start of it.
It was a disappointing final last nine holes for Graeme McDowell, who enjoyed a one-stroke lead going into the final round. He eventually shot a final round 79 to add to his earlier rounds of 67, 69 and 68. Needless to say, he found the water several times over the last few holes; and eventually finished tied for 33rd.
The top European was Luke Donald who continued his great season with another top-5 finish. The Englishman was tied for 4th with Nick Watney, behind Paul Goydos in second; and finds himself 2nd in the world rankings. It must now only be a matter of time before he reaches the top spot.
It was also an encouraging week for Sergio Garcia, who is coming back from several months of poor form, but who will be delighted with his 12th place finish.
