Daniel Chopra jumped 59 places to 61st in the world golf ranking because of his win yesterday at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. In other news, Steve Stricker pulled ahead of Jim Furyk and Ernie Els with his second place finish at Kapalua, and is now third in the world. Stricker, who has never been ranked this high before, could catch Phil Mickelson for the second spot by year's end.
Dani
el Chopra fulfilled a lifelong dream earlier today at the Mercedes-Benz Championship--he will be going to Augusta National. Chopra defeated back-to-back comeback player of the year Steve Stricker on the fourth playoff hole at Kapalua to win his second PGA tournament. "It was unbelievable, what a great round I played today," said Chopra, who fired a bogey-free round of 7-under 66. The Swede had a number of opportunities to close out the tournament in regulation and on the first three playoff holes, but finally clinched it on the fourth playoff hole, the par-5 9th, with a two-putt birdie. Chopra told Jerry Foltz of The Golf Channel, "Al
l those putts in the playoff and regulation I thought I hit just superb strokes, every single one of them I just hit exactly the way I want. I just felt that there was a goalie in the hole and I thought maybe it wasn’t meant to be." Chopra's caddy wore a Masters hat on Sunday, and with the win, that is where the duo are headed.
It took 133 starts, but Daniel Chopra is now a PGA Tour winner. On Monday morning at the Ginn sur Mer Classic, Chopra played his final three holes at 1-under-par to oust Shigeki Maruyama and Fredrik Jacobson by one stroke. "You play out here for a long time and you wonder if it’s ever going to happen," said Chopra to Mike Ritz of The Golf Channel. "It’s been a long road and that first one’s always special." The win moves Chopra up 61 places to 141st in the world golf ranking. Maruyama jumped from 137th to 103rd on the money list, allowing him to retain his card for next year.
