Chopra on the Move Again
PGA Tour's Traveling Man Tied for Third Entering Final Round

By Marc Carig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 25, 2006

Daniel Chopra has teed it up from Bombay to Berlin, seemingly playing in everything but the Antarctica Tour.

He has played golf in 40 countries while logging time on the Malaysian, Scandinavian and Australasian tours. Once, he ended up at an event in China, where he hit a 5-iron off the Great Wall.

As one of the tour's most well-traveled players, Chopra has seen a lot.

Today, all the former globetrotter wants to see is his name on top of the leader board at the Booz Allen Classic.

"I've been working on a lot of things the last few months," said Chopra, who is seeking his first PGA Tour victory since moving to the United States in 2004. "It's really starting to pay off."

Chopra still has plenty of work left, trailing leader Ben Curtis by seven shots. But he believes he's capable of making a run, especially if the course's conditions are as forgiving are as they were yesterday.

"Anybody can be caught," said Chopra, who is tied for third with Steve Stricker. "It doesn't matter how far behind you are. Anything can happen."

Chopra recorded consecutive top 20 finishes in March before going into a slide that saw him miss the cut in six of his next 10 events.

But he has rebounded here, firing three rounds under 70, including yesterday's 4-under-par 67.

"I have put myself in position," said Chopra, who stands at 12 under through 54 holes.

The golfer's traveling days started early when he left his native Sweden for India, where he grew up, learned the game and dominated the junior circuit. From there, he competed in tournaments that would take him, but always with the PGA Tour in mind.

"I always did enjoy the different foods and different cultures," Chopra said.

But by 2001, after modest success in India, Chopra hit a rough patch in his career. His golf travels had earned him nothing but struggles on the course, and debts off it.

He didn't have a card anywhere in the world but in the European Challenge Tour, that continent's version of the Nationwide Tour. But he couldn't afford to travel through Europe.

So, he canvassed Asia playing on as many sponsor's exemptions as he could.

Nearly bankrupt and needing just enough money to play in a critical tournament, Chopra turned to his friend and Asian Tour mainstay Jeev Mikha Singh, who came through with a $5,000 loan.

"That kind of changed the whole thing," said Chopra, who repaid Singh within a week of accepting the loan.

Chopra won the 2001 Taiwan Masters tournament, a card on the Asian Tour and eventually a spot on the Nationwide Tour through a qualifying tournament. From there, he made the jump to the PGA Tour.

Today, Chopra could take one more step in his long journey.

"The most important thing is to play well, yourself," said Chopra, who will play in the second-to-last group today. "You can't catch anybody if you play poorly."