Five weeks ago K.J. Choi received a trophy from Jack Nicklaus. On Sunday, he got one from Tiger Woods.
"Here's your trophy, big guy," said Woods, who watched as Choi kissed the silver-colored replica of the US Capitol.
For the second time in five weeks, the biggest South Korean star of the US PGA Tour soaked up the cheers as the prized guest at a golf party thrown by one of golf's greats. Having accepted the crystal trophy from host Nicklaus at the Memorial in late May, Choi persevered in an adventurous back nine for a three-stroke victory at Woods' inaugural event, the AT&T National.
"This tournament is just too big for me to really absorb right now," Choi said. "But it's a very big win for me, and definitely the biggest win of my career."
Choi shot a final-round 68 for a 9-under 271 total to win for the sixth time on the US PGA Tour, the most victories by an Asian-born player, and his US$1.08 million first-place check matched the one he got for winning Nicklaus' Memorial last month.
Brad Bryant took advantage of another US Senior Open flameout by Tom Watson, shooting a 4-under-par 68 to complete the second-biggest comeback in tournament history on Sunday.
Bryant's birdie on the 16th hole at Whistling Straits gave him the lead as Watson frittered away six shots in a five-hole stretch on the back nine -- the latest in a series of final-round disappointments for Watson in the high-profile senior major.
Bryant, 52, won only once in more than two decades on the US PGA Tour. But he finished third on the Champions Tour money list last year with two victories, and won again at the Regions Charity Classic in May.
It was the first victory in a senior major for Bryant, who finished second in last year's Senior US PGA championship.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite