In tough conditions, Choi works his way to win No. 7
HONOLULU (AP) -- Every shot brought a tough decision. Every swing brought an unpredictable result.
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K.J. Choi never imagined having to work so hard in paradise, even with a four-shot lead in the Sony Open in Hawaii. When he finally calmed his nerves and his putting stroke, however, he wound up as the champion everyone expected.
Choi survived the blustery conditions at Waialae and a spirited charge by Rory Sabbatini, closing with a 1-over 71 for a three-shot victory Sunday that put him in elite company. It was Choi's fourth straight year with a PGA TOUR victory, joining Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh with active streaks that long.
"I can't remember having such a difficult round as today," said Choi, the first Sony Open champion in 41 years with a final round over par. "It was very difficult conditions out there. I told myself, 'Try not to lose focus.'"
More importantly, he never lost the lead.
Choi wobbled in the wind, and when he three-putted the 13th for bogey -- his only three-putt of the week -- his lead was down to two shots. But the 37-year-old South Korean made pars the rest of the way, making his only birdie of the final round on the last hole.
"When I made that three-putt, that really woke me up," he said. "It was kind of like medicine. It woke me up and I said, 'I have to hang in there, not fall apart.' It motivated me."
The wind was strong enough to cause palm trees to sway and make birdies scarce. Sabbatini managed six birdies, but a three-putt par on the final hole gave him a 68. He was a runner-up in Hawaii for the third time, two at this tournament.
"There were two things that needed to happen today -- K.J. to lose a few shots back to the field, and for someone to go low," Sabbatini said. "He kind of did his part, but the ones of us that were chasing, unfortunately, failed to do our jobs and go low enough to maybe change the outcomes."
Only eight players broke par in the final round, when the average score was 72.2.
Choi finished at 14-under 266 and earned $954,000 for his seventh PGA TOUR win.
Jerry Kelly closed with a bogey-free 67 to finish alone in third.
The last Sony Open champion to close with a round over par was Dudley Wysong, who beat Billy Casper in a playoff in 1967. Conditions had been mostly calm all week, but the wind gusted across Waialae all day, and only eight players broke par.
"Being lulled to sleep for three days made it tougher," Kelly said. "If we would have been facing this all week, we might have seen more rounds like that. I'll tell you, I'd hate to be a rookie and just all of a sudden see this place Sunday."
One such rookie was Tim Wilkinson, the 29-year-old from New Zealand playing in only his third PGA TOUR event, and starting off in the final group with Choi after a third-round 62. Wilkinson started off with a bogey and it went badly from there. He shot 78 to tie for 25th.
Choi only had two birdie putts inside 15 feet in the final round, both on the par 5s. He missed a 3-footer on No. 9 that gave the field hope, and made the last one that only determined the margin of victory. He became the first outright wire-to-wire winner at the Sony Open since Paul Azinger in 2000.
Steve Stricker birdied the last hole for a 70 and finished in a tie for fourth with Stephen Marino (72), Pat Perez (70) and Kevin Na, who made eagle on the final hole for a 72. Stricker started his year with consecutive top 5s.
Sabbatini can't complain about his start, either.
"All things considered, I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season," he said.
Sabbatini knew he would need help from Choi, and the South Korean nearly obliged except for a putter that bailed him out early.
Choi made 12-foot par putts on the first two holes, and made an 8-foot putt to escape with bogey on No. 4. Fortunately for him, no one was making a run.
Sabbatini's bid was slowed when his 2-iron off the tee at No. 8 struck a tree and dropped into a hazard, leading to double bogey. That put him put him six shots behind, but he kept plugging away, trying to keep it close, hopeful of Choi making a mistake.
It was a little of both.
Sabbatini bounced back with two birdies on the next three holes, and he was back in the picture for good when his 35-foot birdie on the 13th dropped into the cup.
That's where Choi added some drama into the final round. It looked like he would finish the 13th with another two-putt par until he missed from 3 feet -- his first three-putt of the tournament. Sabbatini dropped another shot on the 15th, but showed no quit with a brilliant approach to a front pin on the 16th to 4 feet.
His hopes ended with a shot into the sun that he never saw, the ball landing at the back end of the green some 65 feet away for eagle. Sabbatini left it 8 feet short and missed that to the right.
Kelly had a remarkable bogey-free round, and the consolation was a third-place finish. Kelly came into the week at No. 64 in the world ranking, and he will move into the mid-50s with only four weeks before the deadline to qualify for the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship.
"I'm aware of that, but I'm not worried about it," Kelly said. "I've always paid too much attention to everything. I'm trying to get away from the future and the past, because I've handled both of them poorly."
Divots: Parker McLachlin, the only Hawaii native to make the cut, closed with a 70 to tie for 10th. ... Jim McGovern closed with a 76, but was consoled by his beloved New York Giants going to the NFC Championship. The Giants-Bucs wild-card game was moved to Sunday, the day McGovern flew from New Jersey to Hawaii. Sunday's game was at 11 a.m. local time, 30 minutes after he teed off. If he gets into the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, he'll probably miss that game, too.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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