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| Choi
Cruises to Clutch Victory at Chrysler Championship
by Michael Ohr
October 30, 2006 |
Like
his win at the 2002 Tampa Bay Classic, a very confident
K.J. Choi took full command of the Chrysler Championship
and the difficult course and never relinquished
his lead over a strong group of pursuers, finishing
13-under 271 and taking home a winner’s check
of $954,000.
With superb driving accuracy and solid putting,
K.J. took control on Sunday with an eagle on the
1st hole, par 5, but despite a couple of bogeys
on holes 3 and 5, he managed to bounce back on following
holes with birdies. Another birdie on the 10th hole
secured his three shot lead for good, and finally
adding the finishing touch with a birdie on the
18th to win the tournament by four strokes.
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(AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
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| Asked
how he felt going into the final round, K.J. answered,
“I had a good dream with the extra one hour”,
referring to the U.S. daylight savings time.
Choi couldn’t have timed it any better.
The clutch win at the Chrysler Championship, the
last full-field PGA event of the year, vaulted
him from 68th to 26th on the PGA Tour money list
ranking and earned him a spot in the prized Tour
Championship, reserved for the Top 30 players.
The win also sends him to the 2007 Mercedes Championship
and his fifth straight appearance at the Masters
in Augusta, Georgia.
This is K.J. Choi’s 4th PGA Tour win, making
him the most successful Asian on the PGA Tour.
But this win may have more meaning because, by
his standards, it has been a slow year. Three
of his four cuts came at the Majors (The Masters,
British Open, and the U.S. Open) but a solid 7th
place finish at the PGA Championship at Medinah
Country Club in August was a sign of a turnaround.
"This year I started off slow but in September
and October, I've played strong", said K.J.
during a recent interview.
K.J.'s impressive win at Chrysler also catapults
him up to 28th from 55th in the official
world ranking. After the Tour Championship,
K.J. will head to Shanghai, China to play at the
HSBC
Champions where the world's top 50 players,
including Tiger Woods, will compete.
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PGA
Tour Win:
No. 4
Winning Score:
68-68-70-67 (-13)
Winner's Share:
$954,000
Stats (1st in):
Birdies
19
With
this win:
Moves up 27 places
to World No. 28
Moves to 26 on
the PGA Tour
Moneylist
1st
2-time champion
of this event
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