K.J. Choi had the look of a champion from the start Sunday.
“You can tell when someone is in the zone by his eyes,” said Choi’s caddie, Andy Prodger. “And you could see it in his eyes.”
That determination – and four consecutive birdies to open the final round – helped the South Korean star win the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro (N.C.). He cruised to a two-shot victory over Shigeki Maruyama to snap a three-year losing streak.
“I really focused on my game,” Choi said. “In Korea, in all the times, every since the last one, anytime I’m in the last group, I won it except once.”
It was Choi’s first PGA Tour victory since 2002, when he won two tournaments during a breakthrough season. He finished with a 6-under 66 for a 22-under 266 total, one stroke short of Jesper Parnevik’s tournament record from 1999.
Maruyama shot a 67. First-round leader Charles Warren, who tied the course record of 62 before faltering a bit over the past two days, rebounded with a 65 to tie Kent Denver graduate Brandt Jobe (67) and Jason Bohn (70) for third.
Sergio Garcia had a 71 to tie for 13th at 13-under. U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman and Adam Scott shot 74s to finish in a group at 3-under.
LPGA: South Korea’s Hee-Won Han had a one-stroke lead with 10 holes to play when the final round of the Office Depot Championship in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., was suspended because of darkness Sunday.
Exceedingly slow play the first three days and a 3 1/2-hour delay because of dense fog Saturday have plagued the tournament in its first year at Trump National. Sunday’s suspension was the second in two days.
None of the 79 players who made the cut completed the third round.
European Tour: Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie birdied the last hole to win the Dunhill Links Championship in St. Andrews by a stroke, rallying from a five-shot deficit for his first victory in his home country since 1999.
