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Golf Roundup: Furyk wins for first time since '07
Holds off K.J. Choi for Transitions title
Monday, March 22, 2010

Jim Furyk showed the nerves of a player trying to win for the first time on the PGA Tour. Considering how long it had been since his previous victory, it felt that way.

Furyk closed with a 2-under 69 Sunday for a one-shot victory over K.J. Choi in the Transitions Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla., his first victory since the 2007 Canadian Open to end his longest winless stretch since he first joined the tour 16 years ago.

He did just enough right on the back nine of Innisbrook that he could afford a few mistakes down the stretch, and he nearly made a whopper.

With a two-shot lead on the 18th hole of the Copperhead course, Furyk drove into the trees, nearly took out NBC reporter Roger Maltbie with his next shot and needed a good lag from 30 feet to secure a bogey.

Furyk finished at 13-under 271 and won for the 14th time in his career, moving to No. 6 in the world.

"I have a habit of making it tough on myself," Furyk said. "Just nerves got me, to be honest with you."

Choi, who started three shots out of the lead, was tied with Furyk through seven holes until a two-shot swing on the par-3 eighth. Choi never got any closer until the final hole. He closed with a 4-under 67, but his runner-up finish should be enough to move him to No. 47 in the world and give him a good chance to get into the Masters.

Choi raised both arms in a strongman pose when he heard about the world ranking, a good consolation prize provided he stays in the top 50 after Bay Hill next week.

Bubba Watson, who has never won on the PGA Tour or Nationwide Tour, also gave Furyk a good run and was within two shots throughout the back nine in a final round that had nearly six hours of weather delays.

Watson played without a bogey until the par-3 15th, when he came up short of the green, chipped over the green and dropped a crucial shot. He made pars the rest of the way for a 68, finishing alone in third.

Other tournament

• Hassan II Trophy: Wales' Rhys Davies won his first PGA European Tour title, shooting a 7-under 66 for a two-stroke victory over South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat, Morocco. Davies, 24, finished at 25-under 266. Oosthuizen, winless on the European tour, closed with a 70.

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First published on March 22, 2010 at 12:48 am