Swedish golfer, Daniel Chopra apprehended his nerve when he defeated Steve Stricker of America in a play-off match for the PGA Tour opening session of Mercedes-Benz Championships. Chopra’s wild playoff triumph on Sunday in the Mercedes-Benz Championship was more about insistence and urgency. Both the players missed the opportunities of birdies from six feet at the initial hole, just before Chopra sealing the victory. He initiated with two putt birdie at the par 5 ninth, where his eagle effort came to rest on the border of the hole.
Chopra said that it was one of his best final rounds ever played to steal a victory at the tournament. The moment Chopra reached Hawaii he loved the place very much despite watching most of the tournaments on the television and also playing a video game. Chopra has missed two birdies on the 18th hole from inside twelve feet which would have won him the tournament. He initially got a jam when his shot settled into a sprinkler and he would have evaded one, when Stricker’s long eagle putt on the first hole was slowed down by Chopra’s ball marks.
Chopra fell to his knees twice when he felt that his putts would go in, however this did not happen. Both the players accomplished the seventy two regulation holes on 18 under par 274, Stricker finished birdie/birdie/par/birdie for 64 while Chopra carded 66 points. Chopra had qualified for this tournament with his first PGA Tour triumph in the second to the last event of 2007. He earned 1.0 million dollars and a Mercedes-Benz Sports Car and this triumph earned Chopra his first trip to the Masters.
Chinese Liang Wenchong won his first major title of this year by winning the Singapore Masters defeating Iain Steel of Malaysia. During the playoff on Sunday, Liang made par on the first hole of a sudden death to win the title. On the final round of 73, Liang had shot 1 over par while Steel could manage only 1 under 71 to end the tied game at 11 under 277. By winning the title, Laing has earned 1.1 million dollars of prize money which was co-sanctioned by Asian and European Tours. Liang who had finished third at the Philippine Open has four birdies against double bogey and three bogeys while Steel shot four birdies against a double bogey and a bogey for his final round.
After the loss, Steel said that he had not executed his shot well off the tee making him loss maximum points and also the title. Simon Dyson from England got the third place as he was only one stroke behind after 1 under 71, he could manage to make three birdies against two bogeys. Nick Dougherty who was the initial leader leading in the filed made seven birdies and finished two strokes behind with 279, with fellow golfers David Lynn, Anthony Wall and Jean Van de Velde of France finished behind Dougherty. Dougherty was not happy with the result as he considered complaining to the organizers about the golf course which he felt was not consistent. He said that the course in some places was rough and also bit long, which in his words is too obscene and pathetic. Other players who participated in this championship include Peter Lawrie of Ireland, Indian Jyoti Randhwa, Welshman Craig Smith, Lin Keng-Chi of Taiwan and Terry Pilkadaris & Scott Barr of Australia.
Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren of Scotland beat out Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley of the U.S. on the third hole of sudden death in the World Cup on Sunday, November 25th. They were defeated in 2006 by Germany who were defending champions this year, but tied for sixth place with Argentina, The Netherlands, and Sweden.
Weekley was putting for par and to keep the game tied when he missed his fifteen-foot put. Slocum and Weekley had lead by one stroke the past three days and this would have made for the United States 24th victory in the World Cup.
Montgomerie and Warren will be taking the John Hopkins trophy home to Scotland for the first time along with $800,000 each.
The Dubai World Championship will be held at the Jumeriah Golf Estates starting in 2009 for five years with the option to prolong hosting the tournament for another five years.
This tournament will be the world’s richest with $10 million in prize money, surpassing the U.S. Tour’s Player Championship currently offering $9 million. The tournament will be held from November 19th to the 22nd on either the Earth or Fire course, both designed by Greg Norman.
The winner of the tournament will receive $1.66 million in prize money. PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem welcomes the tournament as The European Tour has had difficulties competing with the “deep pockets” of the PGA Tour. He feels it is “terrific for the professional golf globally”.