K.J. Choi (-10) experienced the two sides of the coin in a golf tournament this Sunday at Carnoustie. First, he lost the Senior Open and then he rose from the grave and won it. When no one gave a penny for him. When he seemed to be stuck in a dark and long tunnel with no way out. When Richard Green was very hopeful. When the Senior Open was drawing a very different story.
Choi started the decisive round badly. He signed three bogeys in the first six holes and lost the lead. Moreover, he was two strokes behind Richard Green, his playing partner. At that moment, it seemed that the tournament was over for Choi. You know, the dynamics. Let’s see who can lift something like that. Especially if we add the two double bogeys from yesterday at the end of the third round, just when half the Senior Open already had him in the bag.
However, Choi had prepared a dodge to his fate. The South Korean, a tough man where there are, got up. Boy, did he get up. He rolled up his sleeves and said to himself: let’s win this. He started with a birdie on the 9th, added another on the 10th, one more on the 12th, continued with another on the 13th and finished his masterpiece with a fabulous eagle on the 13th, sinking one of the many putts he has holed throughout the week. What a majestic performance on the greens.
Choi blew up the Senior Open in that six-under par in five holes. The End. He placed himself at -11, while Green maintained an exchange of strokes with the course that prevented him from moving up. He was making birdies, yes, but he was exchanging them with bogeys every time. Too many mistakes to win a Major. Much more when a fury has been unleashed by your side.
Choi finished his triumph with a harmless bogey on the 18th. The victory was already assured. It is his first senior Major, his first Senior Open. Beyond the victory, the most important of his career after turning 50, he has secured his presence in next year’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush. The new trophy can share a showcase with The Players Championship, the most important victory he achieved before moving to the senior world.
Choi won with a two-stroke lead over Green and four over Paul Broadhurst. In fourth place was Stephen Ames (-3).
Great week also for Miguel Ángel Martín (-2). The golfer from Huelva finished in fifth place after handing in a card of 71 strokes. Thus, he leaves with three rounds under par, which is an extraordinary record at Carnoustie. Only three other players have achieved it, in addition to Choi, who has played all four days in red numbers.
This fifth place is Martín’s best result in a senior Major, improving the sixth he obtained in the 2017 Senior Open. Super result with 62 years on his back. Hats off. And that he could still have been fourth alone, although he finished with two bogeys on the 17th and 18th. Be that as it may, nothing tarnishes this fabulous week.
