South Korea’s K.J. Choi beat American David Toms in a sudden-death playoff to win the Players Championship at Sawgrass on Sunday and become the first Asian to win golf’s unofficial “fifth major.”
Choi sealed the biggest win of his career with a regulation par on the first playoff hole after Toms, a former US PGA champion, three-putted for a bogey.
“For some reason I felt so comfortable out there,” Choi said. “The swing that I have right now just doesn’t break down under pressure situations. I was able to be precise and aggressive and keep my rhythm together and that is what brought this performance.”
Photo: AFP
The drama came at the end of a marathon final day, with the leaders arriving at 7:45am and playing 13 holes of their rain-affected third round, before heading out again for the fourth round.
The pair had finished the tournament tied at 13-under par after closing with rounds of 70, where they both played consistent and solid golf, while their challengers fell by the wayside.
Choi, 40, snatched the outright lead with a birdie on the par-3 17th, only for Toms to respond by draining a long birdie putt on the final hole, to a huge roar, forcing the playoff, the first Choi has faced on the PGA tour.
However, the 44-year-old Toms, without a win in five years, lost his touch when it mattered most.
He missed a par putt from three-and-a-half feet on the first playoff hole, the par-3 17th, then watched as the Houston-based Choi calmy drained his par to secure his eighth win on the PGA Tour and his first in more than three years.
Toms, who won the US PGA Championship in 2001, but has not won in 124 starts since Hawaii in 2006, was left looking for positives from his near miss.
“It is disappointing, but I hung in there,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in this position, to be in the lead on a tough golf course, it shows I can still do it. I need to work on putting, if I had putted well I could have put a bit of distance between myself and the others.”
Britain’s Graeme McDowell started the final round with a one stroke lead, but imploded in a horrible round where he found water on four holes.
The reigning US Open champion, who had declared his swing problems behind him, shot a seven over-par round off 79 to finish tied for 33rd place.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
RSS