June4 Choiwinsmemrial

KJ Choi won the US Tour’s Memorial tournament in style and had a lot to thank the host for!

Jack Nicklaus stood proudly behid the 18th green as Choi closed in on glory. Choi had read books by Nicklaus as he grew up in South Korea and studied the techniques and teachings of the 18-times Major winner.

“As I started reading it, I could understand why he was such a great golfer, because all the things that were written really started to make sense,” Choi said. “That’s how I really got into golf, by reading the book.”

Choi closed with a 7-under 65 for a one-shot victory over Ryan Moore. Choi finished off his string of four birdies on the front nine with a 7-iron he carved around the trees lining the right side of the ninth fairway to eight feet of the hole.

“A cut shot, Jack-style,” Choi said with a laugh.

Then came a series of pars that were equally significant, all made with clutch putts. Choi took only 12 putts on the back nine, finishing with a 7-foot par save from the bunker on the 16th, a 15-foot par save from the gallery behind the 17th green, and a tricky 5-foot save from the bunker on the 18th hole that ultimately gave him his fifth career victory on the PGA Tour.

Considering the host and the history, it was by far his biggest. “I just feel very honored and very happy to be living in the same time as Jack is living, and to win his tournament is so meaningful to me,” Choi said. “I can only think that this was meant to be.”

Rod Pampling had a three-shot lead going into the final round, which was delayed by an hour in the morning when rain pounded Muirfield Village. He made a late bid with a 30-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole to get within one shot, then promptly fired his approach on the 17th over the green and into the gallery, taking a bogey.

Adam Scott overcame a blunder on the 11th when he couldn’t clear the creek out of the deep rough. He birdied the 15th and 16th holes to get within one shot, but he three-putted from the fringe on the 17th for bogey. He added a bogey from the edge of the bunker on the 18th that only cost him money, closing with a 70 to tie for fifth.

“It would have been nice to have a chance on 18,” Scott said. “A bad read, a bad putt on 17 ended that.”

Moore was mistake-free after opening with a bogey, and he made a torrid charge at the end with five straight birdies. His approach to the 18th came up 40 feet short, and he two-putted for par and a 66.

“To play slightly poorly early in the round … to all of a sudden jump myself back into it those last few holes, I couldn’t be happier right now,” Moore said. “I’ll definitely build some confidence from it and keep moving forward.”

Choi finished at 17-under 271 and earned $1.08 million. Kenny Perry had the best round, 9 under through 15 holes until finishing with three pars for a 63 to tie for third with Pampling. Sean O’Hair had another solid performance, closed with a 70 and was another shot back with Stewart Cink (69) and Fredrik Jacobson (68).

Tiger Woods made progress in his final tournament before the U.S. Open. He finally holed his share of putts and closed with a 67 to tie for 15th, then headed for Oakmont for one final practice round.

“It was progressing all week, which was nice,” Woods said.

Woods walked to the practice range in the morning studying a weather map on his cell phone, and it looked as though storms would threaten most of the afternoon. All it did was soften the course and turn the final round into a shootout.

Englishmen Paul Casey and Luke Donald had solid, if not spectacular, finishes. Casey ended at five under and ties 31st, while Donald was just one shot back and in a tie for 35th.