Day in Review: Long day, good Day, and many birdies for Gay

Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

K.J. Choi birdied the 17th hole late Sunday to take the lead, which was then matched by Davis Toms on the 18th.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Through 12 hours of golf on Sunday, numerous contenders trudged over 30-plus holes at a TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course hardened by wind and water.

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RD. 4 PLAYER REPORTS

Garcia closes with 65
Goydos comes close again
Watney battles gamely
McDowell: 'Pretty ugly finish'
Stroud gains confidence
Hoffman goes down swinging
Perry, Pavin under par

ROUND 4 VIDEO

Video: Choi wins in playoff
Video: Mickelson tight at 17
Video: Gay birdies 16th
Video: Garcia eagles 16th
Video: O'Hair eagles 2nd
Video: Perry's 2 at par-4 6th
Video: Day's birdie at 18
Video: Baddeley birdies 15

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In the mix were a recent bridesmaid, a major champion with a revived game and younger players aiming to make THE PLAYERS Championship another notch in their professional belts.

The men left standing at day's end were veterans and devoted family men K.J. Choi and David Toms. They tied when Toms canned a birdie putt on the final hole and were separated only by a missed playoff par putt on the course's signature hole as Choi became the new champion.

VETERAN CADDIE: Caddie Andy Prodger has been through the pressure situations in big tournaments before. The 59-year-old Scot helped Nick Faldo to his 1987 British Open victory at Muirfield when Faldo made 18 pars in the final round and also when Faldo beat Scott Hoch in a playoff at the 1989 Masters.

That's why PLAYERS champion K.J. Choi values Prodger's wisdom.

"Andy is like my wife, like my older brother," Choi said. "When I'm not playing well, he's got a lot of humor. He cracks a joke and makes me feel better. He's someone that gives me something to dream about. He gives me hope. Whenever I'm down he'll motivate me by saying, 'Don't worry about it. Don't be concerned about anything. Just think positive.' "

On the 16th hole on Sunday, Choi was forced to lay up on his second shot, while trailing David Toms by one stroke, and "I personally thought that the tournament wasn't mine." In stepped Prodger to instill confidence by saying, "You never know what's going to happen." Toms made bogey and the two went to the last two holes tied.

TOMS' MOTIVATION: David Toms, age 44, drew inspiration from his 13-year-old son Carter this week. Carter has become a devoted follower of not only his father, but also playing and watching golf.

"When I'm picking out my outfit for the next day, he's picking out his outfit for the next day," Toms said. "These young kids are looking up the young guys out here on TOUR, and he follows it all the time. It's on his phone, it's on his computer, and he's watching the Golf Channel all the time."

Toms said when he and his family were sitting around the clubhouse during the long rain delay on Saturday that Carter was talking with 18-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero, a PLAYERS participant.

"My son can relate to that guy a lot better," Toms said. "I'm just his dad who plays golf."

Similarly, Choi, 41, has been energized by his oldest son, David, who turned 14 last Monday.

INTERNATIONAL: K.J. Choi became the fourth consecutive international player to capture THE PLAYERS, following Sergio Garcia (2008, Spain), Henrik Stenson (2009, Sweden) and Tim Clark (2010, South Africa). That is the most consecutive international winners in PLAYERS history.

Water Log: 17th hole

How many shots found the water at the famous 17th island green? Check out Sunday's numbers. Click here

The Choi victory also continues an international trend in THE PLAYERS and major championships: the Masters Tournament (South Africa's Charl Schwartzel), U.S. Open (Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell), British Open (South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen) and PGA Championship (Germany's Martin Kaymer).

PLAYOFF: The playoff was only the fourth in the 38-year history of THE PLAYERS, but the second in the last four years. Raymond Floyd beat Barry Jaeckel and Curtis Strange in 1981 at Sawgrass Country Club, Sandy Lyle beat Jeff Sluman in 1987 at TPC Sawgrass and Sergio Garcia defeated Paul Goydos in 2008.

NO. 18 DRAMA: Only one player has made birdie on the 72nd hole to win THE PLAYERS. That was Steve Elkington in 1991. However, Sandy Lyle and Jeff Sluman also birdied the final hole in 1987 on the way to a playoff, which Lyle won. David Toms joined that duo with his birdie on the final green.

WELCOME BACK PAUL: Paul Goydos finished third on Sunday, a similar position to where he drew accolades in 2008 for losing a playoff to Sergio Garcia. That year, Goydos sported a Long Beach State baseball cap and expressed a self-deprecating sense of humor that has earned him the nickname, "Mr. Sunshine," over the years.

"I really drove the ball well this week. It hit the ball well," Goydos said. "I made a couple putts, which is something I haven't been doing all year."

MCDOWELL'S COLLAPSE: After earning the third-round lead on Sunday morning, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell couldn't keep his game sharp in the afternoon. The reigning U.S. Open champion shot a final-round 79 that was more reminiscent of his game a month ago than it was much of the week at TPC Sawgrass.

"This is an element of physical fatigue, but I think it was physical fatigue brought on by a few bogeys at the wrong time," McDowell said.

STROKES GAINED -- PUTTING: K.J. Choi finished second to Chris Couch in THE PLAYERS field in Strokes Gained -- Putting at 2.055 strokes per round. Strokes Gained -- Putting was incorporated starting at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, adding a core stat to define a key piece of the game for the first time in more than 15 years.

It was developed with heavy involvement from Colombia University and MIT and is regarded as the best indicator of putting performance on the PGA TOUR. A full breakdown of the stat is at: www.pgatour.com/putting. On the season, John Merrick leads the TOUR in the statistic at 1.046 Strokes Gained -- Putting per round, while Choi is 59th at .247.

BIRDIE MAN: Three double bogeys or worse during the week summarized how frustrating a week it was Brian Gay. The former Florida golfer finished in a tie for eighth at 9 under par, but made 22 birdies for the week, second only to Andres Romero (23). The 18th hole was particularly damaging as he made an 8 there with two balls in the water in Thursday's first round to turn a 67 into a 71 and a bogey on Sunday. Gay was 9-under coming to the final hole on Sunday. After driving in the right rough, he hit a punch shot that bounced into the hazard, but he then got up and down for bogey.

COURSE RECORDS BACKWARDS: Have there ever been two more under-the-radar course record assaults than those of Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson on Sunday that fizzled so quickly?

Because of Saturday's weather delay, each player was in the rotation starting the final round with the back nine first. Midway through their final nines, they were challenging the course record of 63 held by Greg Norman and Fred Couples.

Garcia went out in 31, going birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie-par to finish the nine and reached 8-under for the day with a birdie on the par-4 seventh. However, he bogeyed the par-3 eighth and then made par on the final hole, the par-5 ninth, to shoot 65.

Watson, the FedExCup leader, has had a true up-and-down week at TPC Sawgrass, shooting 76-66-76-68. On Sunday, he was 7-under through 14 holes with a par 5 remaining, but made bogeys on three of the last four holes.

"I say it was good because I didn't expect to play well here," Watson said. "I didn't even expect to make the cut. It's not a good course for me. So, actually it was all right."

GOOD DAY: Australian Jason Day finished sixth, thanks to a final-round 68 that included a holed-out 5-iron from 185 yards for eagle on the difficult par-4 14th hole. It was only the second eagle on that hole in PLAYERS history.

"I didn't even know it went in until everyone starting yelling," said Day, who finished tied for second at the Masters.

JUST LIKE GARY: In the footsteps of countryman Gary Player, South Africa's Charl Schwartzel is building his frequent-flyer mileage. Player is known as one of the most well-traveled athletes during his 50-plus years as a professional golfer. Schwartzel, the reigning Masters champion who shot a final-round 68, left for Spain on Sunday night for the Volvo World Match Play Championship next week. To get there, the Schwartzels leave Jacksonville and face connections in Canada and Iceland before eventually arriving in Spain. Since the Masters one month ago, Schwartzel has traveled to Malaysia, back home to South Africa and back to the U.S.