Kuchar breaks through with first PGA win

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Matt Kuchar reached into his left pants pocket, pulled out a small piece of white paper and read the phone message Greg Norman left for him.

"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.

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

"What a great feeling, to come out on top, to play all week and to come out as the champion," Kuchar said through a seemingly everlasting smile. "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 it 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 at the turn.

"It's going to be a big day for him," said Sindelar, a 43-year-old pro who made just one bogey in the tournament but remained winless on tour since 1990. "It's going to change his golf life. You think of what he's been through, being Mr. Everything there for a couple of years. I'm sure it was painful for him to go through that."

Kuchar needed just 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-4 No. 13, then grabbed the outright lead on with a birdie on the par-5 No. 14 -- his fourth straight birdie.

Kuchar extended the lead to two strokes with another birdie on the par-5 16th, and made sure no one could tie him with a solid par save on the tough, par-4 18th.

"When that putt dropped, the rush of excitement I felt, I haven't felt that since the U.S. Amateur," Kuchar said.

It has come full circle.

Kuchar was a college sophomore when he graced Augusta National with a wide-eyed gaze to go with a game good enough to tie for 21st and earn an invitation back to the Masters.

Two months later, he starred again in the U.S. Open. He outplayed several big names to reach the weekend just two strokes off the lead, and wound up in a respectable tie for 14th.

He could have turned pro then and would have cashed in on lucrative endorsement offers. Though he never saw any numbers, Kuchar guesses the deals would have been worth at least $2 million.

He passed it up for two more years at Georgia Tech, where results were measured by memories, not trophies.

"I've always known it was the right decision," he said.

Toshiba Senior ClassicNEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Hale Irwin shot a final-round 65 and set a tournament record with a 54-hole score of 196 in winning the Toshiba Senior Classic by five shots over Allen Doyle.

Irwin's total at the 6,584-yard, par-71 Newport Beach Country Club course was 17-under-par and three strokes better than the previous record set by George Archer in 1995 -- the inaugural year of the tournament over the par-70 Mesa Verde CC course.

Irwin, who had rounds of 67 and 64 in the first two rounds, earned $225,000.

Dubai Desert ClassicDUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Ernie Els of South Africa won the Dubai Desert Classic by four shots after a final-round 69.

Els finished at 16-under on the Emirates Golf Club course and beat Sweden's Niclas Fasth, who had a final roud of 2-under 70.

Jacob's Creek OpenADELAIDE, Australia -- Gavin Coles of Australia shot a par-72 to win the $500,000 Jacob's Creek Open, finishing two strokes ahead of American Bryce Molder.

Coles was at 9-under 279 for four rounds.

--From wire reports