Three days of near-perfect golf in paradise allowed K.J. Choi to coast to the championship on the fourth and final day of the Sony Open in Hawai'i, not that he could enjoy it.

"Hole by hole, patience by patience," he said yesterday with a look of joy and relief after clinching a three-shot win with his first birdie of the day on the final green.

Later, the South Korean who joined Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson as the only golfers to win each of the past four years was more reflective, through the smiles in his championship press conference.

"I can't remember having such a difficult round as today," Choi said through an interpreter. "It was very difficult conditions out there. I told myself, 'Try not to lose focus.' I really think the Lord helped me, making me feel comfortable."

A refreshing wind returned to Waialae Country Club as the PGA Tour's first full-field event of the year came to a close. It wreaked havoc on the scores and poked holes in Choi's game, which had been bullet-proof since Thursday. He won his seventh title despite shooting 1-over-par 71.

Choi went into the final round with a four-shot advantage and came out three ahead of Rory Sabbatini (68) and four up on 2002 Sony champion Jerry Kelly (67). Hawai'i's Parker McLachlin rallied, as he had all week, to shoot even-par 70 and grab a share of 10th with birdie — to warm applause — on the 18th.

"I was able to enjoy the walk and embrace all the aloha that everyone was giving me," said McLachlin, whose second top-10 finish was good for $113,571.

Choi won $954,000 with his worst round of the week by five shots, and still no one truly threatened him at 14-under 266 — identical to Paul Goydos' winning score of a year ago. It only proved how brilliant he was the first three days, with 17 birdies and two bogeys, and just how profoundly the wind affects Waialae. Yesterday's 20- to 30-mph breezes were routine for Hawai'i, but a dramatic difference from the serene conditions earlier.

The barrage of birdies and subpar scores came to an abrupt halt. Choi was grinding from the start, one-putting his first two holes for par from 14 feet out and sinking an 8-footer for bogey on the fourth. His only real look at birdie on the front was from within 4 feet on the ninth, and he missed it.

His only three-putt of the week produced his second bogey, at No. 13. Choi called it "like a medicine."

"Every shot out there was difficult, was risky, because you never knew where the ball would go," he said. "But I think after I made that three-putt that really woke me up."

All around him, challengers were in reverse. Yesterday's scoring average of 72.162 was nearly three shots higher than the day before. It was the highest single-round average at Waialae since 1997, with only eight players breaking par.

Kelly was a rare exception, playing one of just two bogey-free rounds, with George McNeill getting the other as part of his 66 — the low round of the wind-blown day. Kelly's problem was that he started eight shots back, and Choi was the man he was chasing.

"I just played a solid Waialae round," Kelly said. "That's what I like to do around here. I like it to blow because I like to manage a game. I don't think any of these guys realize, at least the rookies realize, how much you have to manage a game on this golf course when it blows because it's so easy when it's not."

Nothing was easy about Waialae yesterday.

"It's obviously a golf course that played fairly timid all week long," said Sabbatini, second here two years ago and ranked 11th in the world. "The rough was up and it kept the scoring relatively high for this tournament. It showed its teeth today and it kind of brought the field back a little bit. It really played true to its nature."

That actually played into Choi's capable hands. The world's ninth-ranked golfer leaves his grins and good nature on the sidelines when he plays, retreating into a silent, focused cocoon that has earned him $17 million since he became the first South Korean golfer to earn a tour card in 1999. He has donated significant amounts of that to charities and his churches since his first win in 2002.

The man has a plan, on the course and off.

He spoke warmly and often of his large, loud, multi-national galleries here and of the honor he felt to win on the 105th anniversary of the Korean immigration to the Islands.

"Hawai'i is a special place to me because it's so much like my hometown, Wando Island," Choi said. "In Wando you have water all around just like Hawai'i. There's a lot of similarities. There's mountains in the middle of the island. Just the whole atmosphere here makes me feel real comfortable. I feel real at peace being here and, of course, all the fan support, it feels like I'm right at home.

"The Hawaiian people are so nice to me. Every shot that I take out there, I feel the support, so I think this win makes it that much more special."

He believes the victory, in what he termed exceptionally difficult conditions, could have implications for him in the majors "because those tournaments you (also) have to be patient." He spoke of remaining humble even as he plays his way into golf's elite, and how the "toughness" of his home has helped him pursue this dream

Mostly, he talked of his faith.

"I try to be a very patient man," Choi said. "I'm not perfect, but that's why I try. I pray every day, I read the Bible. Through that I'm able to learn about patience. I think that's important. Without patience, you can't really accomplish anything in life.

"I think especially in the sport of golf you really need to be patient. I have my own way and it is through my peace with the Lord, and that's what really helps me try to be a patient man."

Patient, and nearly perfect for three days. Patient and remarkably persistent on the fourth. It was ultimately too much for Sabbatini, who has now finished in the top 10 in eight of his past nine tournaments.

He sat in the interview room with his small daughter on his lap, happy with his game, lamenting lost opportunities and giving Waialae and Choi much credit for a final day that was ultimately void of drama.

Sabbatini managed six birdies yesterday, but double-bogeyed the eighth hole when he "smothered" a 2-iron off the tee and the ball went in the creek. He had one last-gasp chance when he hit the par-5 18th green in two shots, playing two holes ahead of Choi. Sabbatini three-putted.

"When you're six shots behind you've got to go low and post a number up there," he said. "There were two things that needed to happen today for someone else other than K.J. to win, and that was for K.J. to lose a few shots back to the field and for someone to go low. He kind of did his part and brought himself back towards us a little bit, but those of us that were chasing unfortunately failed to do our jobs and go low enough to change the outcome."

Choi wasn't worried about anyone but himself. "The conditions out there just didn't keep me in my right mind," he said. "I was fighting hard to stay in focus myself. I really couldn't spare to think about what they were doing out there. Every shot was tough and I was just trying to make every shot ... keep it safe."

SONY OPEN IN HAWAI'I SCOREBOARD

At Waialae Country Club

Purse: $5.3 million

Yardage: 7,044; Par 70

(FedExCup points in parentheses)

K.J. Choi (4500), $954,000 64-65-66-71—266
Rory Sabbatini (2700), $572,400 66-69-66-68—269
Jerry Kelly (1700), $360,400 67-67-69-67—270
Steve Stricker (984), $208,688 71-65-66-70—272
Pat Perez (984), $208,688 69-66-67-70—272
Steve Marino (984), $208,688 65-67-68-72—272
Kevin Na (984), $208,688 67-64-69-72—272
Tom Pernice, Jr. (750), $159,000 70-67-66-70—273
Troy Matteson (750), $159,000 69-67-65-72—273
Parker McLachlin (536), $113,571 73-66-65-70—274
Heath Slocum (536), $113,571 65-69-69-71—274
Dustin Johnson (536), $113,571 68-68-67-71—274
Fred Funk (536), $113,571 69-64-69-72—274
Stephen Ames (536), $113,571 70-68-65-71—274
Doug LaBelle II (536), $113,571 67-69-66-72—274
Chad Campbell (536), $113,571 66-69-66-73—274
George McNeill (375), $79,500 68-71-70-66—275
Matt Jones (375), $79,500 68-69-68-70—275
J.B. Holmes (375), $79,500 68-70-64-73—275
Steve Lowery (281), $59,572 66-72-71-67—276
James Driscoll (281), $59,572 66-69-73-68—276
Jim Furyk (281), $59,572 68-70-69-69—276
Y.E. Yang (281), $59,572 69-68-69-70—276
Jay Williamson (281), $59,572 67-68-66-75—276
Chad Collins (187), $39,599 67-70-73-67—277
Vaughn Taylor (187), $39,599 67-70-69-71—277
Jeff Maggert (187), $39,599 69-69-68-71—277
Carl Pettersson (187), $39,599 67-68-69-73—277
Shigeki Maruyama (187), $39,599 68-68-68-73—277
Mark Wilson (187), $39,599 72-65-66-74—277
Tim Wilkinson (187), $39,599 68-69-62-78—277
Cameron Beckman (133), $28,090 67-71-70-70—278
John Merrick (133), $28,090 69-69-69-71—278
Paul Azinger (133), $28,090 70-68-69-71—278
Zach Johnson (133), $28,090 67-70-69-72—278
Daniel Chopra (133), $28,090 66-71-68-73—278
Brad Adamonis (133), $28,090 66-68-70-74—278
Jesper Parnevik (133), $28,090 69-70-66-73—278
Chez Reavie (133), $28,090 68-66-69-75—278
Shane Bertsch (98), $20,670 71-66-72-70—279
J.P. Hayes (98), $20,670 66-70-71-72—279
Yusaku Miyazato (0), $20,670 68-69-69-73—279
Alejandro Canizares (98), $20,670 67-67-71-74—279
Brian Gay (98), $20,670 67-67-70-75—279
Jason Allred (73), $15,518 69-69-74-68—280
Spencer Levin (0), $15,518 67-68-73-72—280
Scott Sterling (73), $15,518 70-69-69-72—280
Vijay Singh (73), $15,518 70-68-69-73—280
Liang Wen-chong (0), $15,518 70-66-70-74—280
Robert Gamez (60), $12,784 67-70-73-71—281
Sean O'Hair (60), $12,784 69-70-71-71—281
Kevin Streelman (60), $12,784 68-69-72-72—281
Patrick Sheehan (60), $12,784 71-68-69-73—281
Bubba Watson (60), $12,784 70-69-67-75—281
John Mallinger (56), $11,925 67-72-71-72—282
Kiyoshi Miyazato (0), $11,925 69-70-70-73—282
Martin Laird (56), $11,925 69-70-70-73—282
Bob Estes (56), $11,925 69-66-71-76—282
Jim McGovern (56), $11,925 71-65-70-76—282
Tom Lehman (56), $11,925 70-68-68-76—282
Mitsuhiro Tateyama (0), $11,448 66-70-75-72—283
Briny Baird (54), $11,448 68-68-73-74—283
Jimmy Walker (54), $11,448 65-68-73-77—283
Daisuke Maruyama (53), $11,236 68-69-71-76—284
Matt Kuchar (53), $11,130 70-67-73-75—285
Dudley Hart (52), $10,971 68-69-74-75—286
John Riegger (52), $10,971 67-69-74-76—286
Mark Calcavecchia (51), $10,812 68-71-73-75—287

Made cut but did not qualify for weekend play

Eric Axley (46), $9,805 72-68—140
Robert Garrigus (46), $9,805 67-73—140
Roland Thatcher (46), $9,805 69-71—140
Tommy Gainey (46), $9,805 73-67—140
Bob Sowards (46), $9,805 69-71—140
Ryuji Imada (46), $9,805 68-72—140
John Huston (46), $9,805 73-67—140
John Daly (46), $9,805 72-68—140
Kevin Stadler (46), $9,805 70-70—140
Angel Cabrera (46), $9,805 70-70—140
Bart Bryant (46), $9,805 69-71—140
Charles Howell III (46), $9,805 69-71—140
Brandt Snedeker (46), $9,805 68-72—140
Jonathan Byrd (46), $9,805 71-69—140
D.J. Trahan (46), $9,805 69-71—140
Jon Mills (46), $9,805 69-71—140
Keiichiro Fukabori (0), $9,805 71-69—140
Kyle Thompson (46), $9,805 69-71—140

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.