Golf

19th hole

By TIMES WIRES
Published October 30, 2006

Stat of the day

South Korea's K.J. Choi became the fifth consecutive international winner of the tournament. He won in 2002, South Africa's Retief Goosen in 2003, Fiji's Vijay Singh in 2004 and Sweden's Carl Pettersson in 2005.

Hole of the day

No. 1, par 5, 560 yards

Tournament winner K.J. Choi set the tone for the day. He hit a 3-wood from 245 yards onto the green and made the 20-foot putt for eagle, giving him a quick three-shot advantage. Ernie Els missed a 3-foot birdie putt that might have spurred him to a better final round. Choi's playing partner, Brian Gay, failed to birdie the hole that played as the easiest for the tournament, averaging 4.585 strokes.

Quotable

"It sounds like music, relaxing." - K.J. Choi, when asked about the new Nike driver he is using that makes a distinct sound when the club hits the ball

By the numbers

3 Top 10s at the Chrysler Championship for Joe Durant, the only player in tournament history with that many.

18 Weeks until the tournament, which for now will be called the Tampa Bay Championship, returns to the Westin Innisbrook Golf Resort.

54 Greens hit out of 72 by K.J. Choi, which tied for fifth in the field.

Around Innisbrook

Rod Pampling's 65 moved him from a tie for 26th to a tie for sixth. The 65 was the best round of the day. ... Joe Durant, who won Oct. 22 at Disney, posted his fourth consecutive top 10 and will be making his first appearance at the Tour Championship since 2001. ... K.J. Choi was the only golfer to play his way into the Tour Championship. Jose Maria Olazabal, who did not play, started the week at No. 26 on the money list but fell to No. 31. ... Troy Matteson posted his fifth straight top 10 after having none in his first 27 starts this year as a rookie. Matteson finished 36th on the money list to earn his first trip to the Masters.

[Last modified October 30, 2006, 02:50:36]