Kuchar Gets the Message

Matt Kuchar reached into his left pants pocket, pulled out a small piece of white paper and read the phone message from Greg Norman.

“Congratulations. It’s about bloody time. Welcome to the club,” Norman said.

Nothing could have been more precise.

Kuchar, the 1997 U.S. Amateur champion who turned down millions in favor of graduating from Georgia Tech, earned his first PGA Tour victory Sunday at Coral Springs, Fla.

The 23-year-old Floridian shot a 6-under-par 66 in the final round of the Honda Classic to finish two strokes ahead of Brad Faxon (67) and Joey Sindelar (70).

“What a great feeling, to come out on top, to play all week and to come out as the champion,” Kuchar said. “It has not happened to me a whole lot, so the times it does, it’s outstanding.”

Kuchar finished at 19-under 269 and earned $630,000 in his 17th event as a professional.

“I wasn’t sure it would happen as soon as it did,” Kuchar said. “I knew it would happen. I always dreamed and knew that I would win and that I would win a lot, but I wasn’t sure that it would happen this soon.”

He had eight birdies and two bogeys in his final round, including four consecutive birdies on the back nine to help him rally from a four-shot deficit to Sindelar.

“It’s going to be a big day for him,” said Sindelar, a 43-year-old pro who made only one bogey in the tournament but remained winless on tour since 1990. “It’s going to change his golf life.”

Kuchar needed only 23 putts, including eight over the final eight holes, to get the victory. He gained a share of the lead with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-four No. 13, then grabbed the outright lead with a birdie on the par-five No. 14--his fourth in a row.

Kuchar extended the lead to two strokes with another birdie on the par-five 16th, and made sure no one could tie him with a 12-foot par putt on the tough, par-four 18th.

Ernie Els, the world’s third-ranked golfer, won a big tournament for the second week in a row, shooting a 3-under-par 69 in the final round to wrap up a four-stroke victory at 272 in the $1.42 million Desert Classic at Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The South African star used remarkable consistency to beat Niclas Fasth of Sweden and win the $250,000 first prize. All four rounds for Els were below 70 as he added the Dubai to last week’s victory in the Genuity Championship on the Doral course in Miami.

In his last seven starts, Els has won three times on three continents. He started with a victory in the Heineken Classic in Melbourne, Australia, last month.

Rookie Carl Pettersson of Sweden finished third at 11-under 277.