Choi roars way to Memorial win

The Associated Press

Published Monday, June 4, 2007

Asked to go over his birdies in the final round of the Memorial Tournament, K.J. Choi didn’t need a translator.

"Too many today," he said with a laugh.

The 37-year-old South Korean broke the language barrier shortly after shattering par, shooting a 7-under 65 to make up a five-stroke deficit to capture the Memorial by a stroke over Ryan Moore in Dublin, Ohio.

It was the biggest final-round comeback on the PGA Tour this season and may end up being a victory celebrated in Asia because it came in the tournament founded by the legendary Jack Nicklaus.

Nicklaus is a big deal in Korea. So is Choi.

"I was there three weeks ago," Nicklaus said after presenting the crystal trophy to Choi. "I promise you, he’s very big in Korea."

There’s no telling how much bigger he’ll get. This was his fifth victory on the U.S. tour, the most by any Asian-born player. The $1.08 million first-place check was the largest of his career.

His closing 65, which matched the second-best score of the day, followed rounds of 69, 70 and 67 and left him at 17-under 271. He took the lead with a flurry of four straight birdies to finish the front nine and then maintained the lead by making clutch pars on the final three holes.

● LPGA: Nicole Castrale chased down the world’s No. 1 player for her first LPGA Tour victory, beating Lorena Ochoa with a par on the first hole of a playoff in the Ginn Tribute in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Castrale closed with a 1-under 71 to match Ochoa (74) at 9-under 279 on the RiverTowne Country Club course. Castrale earned $390,000.

Ochoa, 0 for 4 in playoffs, was up by six shots Saturday and was still ahead by two shots with three holes to play yesterday. However, bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes dropped the Mexican star into a tie and a wayward tee shot into a marsh on the playoff hole, the 18th, cost her the title.

● Champions: Loren Roberts won The Boeing Championship for his first Champions Tour victory of the year, closing with a 6-under 65 for a three-stroke victory over Argentina’s Eduardo Romero in Destin, Fla.

Roberts finished with a 16-under 197 total on the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort’s Raven Golf Club. He earned $247,500 for his sixth victory in three seasons on the 50-and-over tour. Romero finished with a 69.