Sport

Choi clinches victory

May 18 - 24, 2011
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The Americans like to describe the Players Championship as the 'fifth major' and I've always felt that's wrong. It is a very fine golf tournament, but there are only four majors in our sport.

Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy weren't at Sawgrass this week and you wouldn't see the world numbers one and six missing a major, would you? But it's still a fantastic event and this week we still saw a strong field gathered on a tremendous golf course.

It's a huge feather in your cap if you can call yourself the Player's Champion and we've seen a real mix of winners over the years. I recall top names such as Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia winning here.

It is a very open event because the course doesn't suit anybody in particular. The player it suited the most this week, however, was Korean, KJ Choi.

Choi says his rock-solid swing and ability to perform under pressure were the big reasons for his triumph in Sawgrass on Sunday. Choi claimed his eighth victory in the US - more than any other Asian player and one worth over £1million - after a thrilling finish which culminated in a play-off with former PGA and Ryder Cup man, American David Toms.

Rival Toms, without a win for more than six years, was one in front with three to go, but bogeyed the long 16th after hitting his second into the lake. Choi then made a 10-footer for a two at the 130-yard 17th, only for Toms to hole from 17 feet for birdie on the last.

They tied on 13 under and returned to the 17th, where 44-year-old Toms three-putted from 18 feet and allowed 40-year-old Choi to become the fourth successive non-American to triumph after Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson and Tim Clark.

Only hours earlier, across the pond on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, Darren Clarke came from behind to claim the Iberdrola Open as Chris Wood suffered a final-round meltdown.

In windy conditions, Englishman Wood held a four-shot lead going into the final round but struggled to a six-over 76 to finish in a tie for second with David Lynn.

Clarke coped much better with the blustery wind, more reminiscent of conditions in his native Northern Ireland, to sign for a one-under round of 69 and finish on six-under for the event at the Pula Golf Club.

That gave the ever popular 42-year-old a three-shot victory in the tournament and his 13th success on the European Tour.

Before anyone teed off in last week's events, some of the greats of European golf joined family, friends and locals for the funeral of Seve Ballesteros in the small fishing village of Pedrena on Wednesday.

They included Ballesteros' great friend and Ryder Cup partner Jose Maria Olazabal and his fellow Ryder Cup players and captains Colin Montgomerie, Nick Faldo and Sam Torrance.

Every golf club in Spain held a minute's silence and at the Iberdrola Open in Mallorca, where Montgomerie and Olazabal were traveling to after the funeral, black ribbons were placed on every flag for Wednesday's pro-am and a service was held in the chapel alongside the course.

Meanwhile, Montgomerie and Faldo have added their names to the campaign to have the image of Ballesteros on the logo of the European Tour - currently a silhouette of Harry Vardon, Open champion a record six times.

In my opinion the European Tour made a mistake when they re-branded the Order of Merit to the Race to Dubai and overlooked Seve for the logo. Nothing against Vardon, who was a great golfer, but when he was wielding his hickory clubs there was no European Tour in existence.

As I wrote last week Seve championed European golf and made a massive a difference on many levels; be it Ryder Cup, playing in the US or raising the profile of the Tour and the game of golf across the globe.

He was a great champion and the iconic image of his unforgettable celebration on the 18th green at the Home of Golf in 1984 should rightly be the image of the European Tour as a fitting tribute.

It signifies so much, but most of all, every time anyone looks at the logo (should the change be made) they will remember, with a smile, the achievements of Severiano Ballesteros and what he did for the game of golf.







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