PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA. - In a playoff for the first time on the PGA Tour, K.J. Choi conquered an island green and more pressure than he can remember Sunday to win The Players Championship.
He won’t forget the way it ended - and neither will David Toms.
Toms went from narrowly missing an 18-foot birdie putt for the win on the 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass to missing a 3 1/2-foot comeback putt for par, handing Choi the biggest win of his career.
On a hole that is designed to provide great theater, the finish fell a little flat.
Moments earlier, Toms hit his best shot of the week from a divot in the 18th fairway and made an 18-foot birdie putt - only the fourth birdie on that hole in the final round - that got him into a playoff.
Then came the sudden-death playoff at one of the most infamous par 3s in the world. Toms looked to have the advantage when his shot settled 18 feet away and Choi was on the other side of the green.
But the South Korean hit a beautiful lag to just inside 3 feet that he ultimately tapped in for his eighth career PGA Tour win, and his first in three years. He became the fourth consecutive international player to win the PGA Tour’s premier tournament.
Choi closed with a 2-under 70, making a par putt from just inside 5 feet that set up the playoff.
Toms also finished with a 70, and that short putt he missed on the 17th green might not be the only shot that haunts him. Leading by one, he went for the green on the par-5 16th and hit into the water, leading to a bogey.
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