Daniel Chopra completes 1-stroke win at Ginn

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Daniel Chopra was born in Sweden, raised in India by grandparents and had to fly overseas just to buy golf balls. He spent time on about every pro tour imaginable, and those stops flashed through his mind as he stood over the final putt.

Daniel Chopra collected his first USPGA Tour victory on Monday, outlasting compatriot Fredrik Jacobson and Japan's Shigeki Maruyama to the Ginn Classic by one stroke.

Chopra, 33, completed a two-under par 71 in the delayed final round to finish with an overall score of 19-under 273 in the 4.5 million-dollar tournament.

``You never know how you're going to react,'' Chopra said.

He reacted just fine - and got his first PGA Tour victory.

Chopra re-claimed the outright lead with a birdie at the par-5 16th hole Monday morning and held on to win the oft-delayed Ginn sur Mer Classic, edging Fredrik Jacobsen and Shigeki Maruyama by one shot at Tesoro Club.

``It's amazing,'' Chopra said. ``It's something that I've dreamed about for a long time.''

Chopra finished at 19 under, becoming the 12th first-time winner on tour this season.

The win came in Chopra's 133rd career start, and the $810,000 winner's check pushed his career earnings to just shy of $5 million. He saw a four-shot lead over his nearest pursuers evaporate as darkness fell on Tesoro Club Sunday night, then returned in the morning and found a way to prevail.

It was hard to tell who was happier: Chopra in victory, or Maruyama in defeat.

The Japanese player left with one pretty good consolation prize - a card for next season. His tie for second earned him $396,000, vaulting him from 137th to 103rd on the money list with just one tournament remaining, meaning he's a cinch to finish among the top 125 and have full playing privileges next season.

Not bad, considering he was at No. 208 on the list earlier this year.

``This year was really hard, the most difficult year in eight years for myself,'' said Maruyama, who had been in the top 80 on the money list in each of his first seven years on tour. ``I'm really happy.''

He may skip next week's Children's Miracle Network Classic at the Disney courses near Orlando.

``Bye, bye, Disney,'' Maruyama said.

Jacobsen's finish was his best in 96 starts on tour.

``I'm proud that I was trailing a bit coming into the week and getting closer and closer,'' Jacobsen said. ``I ended up having a shot at it, which was nice.''

Dicky Pride (64) was alone in fourth at 16 under, earning $216,000 - the second-biggest check of his career, $9,000 shy of what he earned for winning the 1994 St. Jude Classic.

Chopra, Maruyama and Jacobsen all entered the morning 18 under, with Chopra having three holes left to play and the others with two. That figured to give Chopra a big edge, since his first hole on Monday was the par-5 16th, the easiest on the course this week and one he'd already made birdie on three times.

Make it four.

Chopra's 10-footer - after missing the fairway off the tee - gave him a one-shot lead, after Maruyama and Jacobsen both missed the green and scrambled for par at the par-3 17th.

``Well, 17 is not an easy hole, especially not starting on it,'' Jacobsen said. ``You warm up, you do everything and then you're riding a car out to the tee and playing for a tournament when you're trying to finish off a round as well. ... You feel the pulse going a bit.''

Chopra didn't find 17 easy, either. He hit the green, albeit 55 feet from the hole, and made a 4-footer to save par and maintain the lead. At the 18th, needing par to win, his drive found a bunker, but his second shot stopped 25 feet from the hole to set up the clinching two-putt.

It reminded him of those nights in Europe, when he'd play on that tour during the day and watch the PGA Tour at night, hopeful of one day being on those leaderboards.

This time, he finished on top of one.

``The first one is hard and it's meant to be that way, because you get to enjoy it more and treasure it,'' Chopra said.

In a week filled with weather delays, wet conditions and six-hour rounds, he simply survived. Chopra had been close before, with 13 previous top-10 finishes, and finally got it done.

Ken Duke (70), Charlie Wi (71), Sean O'Hair (74) and Cameron Beckman (72) finished tied for fifth at 13 under. That was huge for Beckman, who jumped 10 spots to 118th on the money list after winning nearly $160,000 at the Ginn and greatly enhancing his odds of avoiding qualifying school.

Chopra didn't need to worry about the money list this week, and won't have to for a while. He'd been in the lead before, been in final groups before, but never found a way to break through - until now.

``Next time around,'' Chopra said, ``I'm sure it'll be a lot easier.''

Notes: Only six players needed to finish their rounds Monday morning. ... It was only the second tournament this year to allow players to lift, clean and place balls in the fairway for all four rounds. Pebble Beach was the other. ... Chopra's 19-under score was his second-best in relation to par on the PGA Tour. He was 21 under at the Frys.com Open last year.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.