Journeyman Chopra claims first US Tour title
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2007 Ginn sur Mer Classic at Tesoro | Round Four | 30 Oct 2007
Sweden’s Daniel Chopra became the 12th first time winner on the USPGA Tour this year but more importantly it continued his own personal progress when he won the Ginn sur Mer Classic at Tesoro by a shot over Japan’s Shigeki Maruyama and fellow Swede Frederik Jacobson. The trio along with several others had been forced to return on Monday morning to complete the event after weather and then darkness forced play to be postponed on Sunday afternoon.
Chopra is into his fourth season on the PGA Tour after two years on the Nationwide Tour and ten years playing in Asia and Europe. The 34-year-old is a journeyman in every sense of the word having been born in Stockholm but raised for much of his early life in the care of his grandparents in India. He has lived in Perth in Western Australia, still has a house in Melbourne and has a US base in Orlando.
Since joining the USPGA Tour in 2004 he has made solid progress and a recent third place finish in Texas suggested that this win was not as far off as many might have thought. Until Texas, three weeks ago however he had been facing the prospect of a return to Tour School but now those concerns are gone, at least for the next couple of years
Chopra’s previous best on the USPGA Tour had been when runner up at the Frys.com event in Las Vegas last year although he has been a prolific winner of events on the Nationwide and other Tours worldwide.
Chopra, who led into the final round, was forced to hold off strong late challenges from Maruyama and Jacobson. After three opening birdies on Sunday it appeared that Chopra might walk away with the event but winning your first event is never an easy task and Maruyama, who was battling for survival on the PGA Tour prior to this week, matched the Swede early before a mid-round slump and then a late rally to finish within one.
Like Chopra, Maruyama has been saved by a strong late finish to the season, he also did well in Texas before this important result. He moved from well outside the top 125 to safety as far as his full status on the USPGA Tour is concerned.
Afterwards Chopra was almost overwhelmed. “Well, it’s amazing. It is something that I’ve dreamed about for a long time. I mentioned earlier when I was playing in Europe, I would sit on the couch every evening when I was home, and I’d watch the telecast. And I couldn’t wait for it to start. I’d watch the leaderboards thinking that maybe one day I’d have my name on one of those leaderboards, in fact just on the leaderboard.”
“And to finally have it on top on a Sunday, you know, coming from India, growing up there. Having to fly overseas just to buy golf balls because you couldn’t buy them in India, you know, at the time. To think that I could come from there to now being a winner on the PGA TOUR, when I think about it, it’s pretty special.”
Jacobson produced his best PGA Tour finish in what is his best season on the Tour with earnings now of US$1,454,000. Like Chopra he is one of the many fine Swedish players on Tour, their numbers amongst the greatest of nations other than the US. Given its relatively small population (10 million), Sweden boxes well above its weight in terms of its production line of golfers, both male and female.
Australian, Michael Sim, who is in his rookie season on the USPGA Tour, finished 9th which, for him, is his best finish of the year. The highly talented, former number one amateur in the world had moved inside the top four early in his round but faltered slightly although the US$121,000 is by far his biggest cheque in the game.
He has improved slightly to 162nd on the money list but needs another big week in Orlando this coming week if he is to regain at least limited status in 2008. It may be however that he will be afforded some form of medical exemption in 2008 due to a worrying back injury he has carried since late last year on the Nationwide Tour.
Paul Gow moved up a few spots on the money list with his 26th place finish this week but it is likely he will be forced to return to Stage Two qualifying unless he can produce something very special this week in Orlando.
Andrew Buckle finished 34th and although he is still well outside the top 125 (143rd) he has likely done enough to avoid stage two of the Tour School and is guaranteed some status in 2008 irrespective of whatever happens next week in Orlando. It might be that he also will be afforded a level of medical exemption in 2008 as a result of an accident he had while playing touch football earlier in the year. New Zealander, Grant Waite, finished 58th.
The PGA Tour now moves north to Orlando for this week’s Children’s Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart.
