Choi Kyung-Ju

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This is a Korean name; the family name is Choi.
Choi Kyung-Ju
최경주

Choi hits a drive during a 2005 PGA Championship practice round at Baltusrol Golf Club
Personal information
Nickname Tank, Hawkeye[1]
Born 19 May 1970 (1970-05-19) (age 41)
Wando, South Korea
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg)
Nationality  South Korea
Residence Southlake, Texas, U.S.[2]
Spouse Hyunjung Kim[1]
Children David, Amanda, and Daniel[1]
Career
College Gwangju University
Turned professional 1994
Current tour(s) PGA Tour (joined 1992)
Former tour(s) Asian Tour
Japan Golf Tour
Professional wins 19
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 8
European Tour 1
Japan Golf Tour 2
Asian Tour 5
Other 3
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament 3rd: 2004
U.S. Open T15: 2005
The Open Championship T8: 2007
PGA Championship T6: 2004
Korean name
Hangul 최경주
Hanja 崔京周
Revised Romanization Choe Gyeong-ju
McCune–Reischauer Ch'oe Kyŏng-ju

Choi Kyung-Ju (Korean: 최경주, born 19 May 1970), also known as K. J. Choi. is a South Korean professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. Since turning pro in 1994, he has won a total of eighteen professional golf tournaments worldwide, including eight on the PGA Tour, making him Asia's most successful golfer. His most notable victory came at the 2011 Players Championship. He has spent 40 weeks in the top-10 of the world rankings.[3][4]

Contents

[edit] Professional career

After establishing his career on the Asian Tour, where he picked up his first professional win at the 1996 Korean Open, and the Japan Golf Tour, where he won twice in 1999, Choi qualified for membership of the U.S. based PGA Tour by finishing tied 35th at the 1999 qualifying tournament. He was the first Korean to earn a PGA Tour card. In his rookie season in 2000 he finished 134th on the money list and had to requalify, but since 2001 he has been a consistent performer on the tour. In 2002 he became the first Korean to win on the PGA Tour at the Compaq Classic of New Orleans, and followed this up with another win at the Tampa Bay Classic in the same year.

In 2003 he won the Linde German Masters on the European Tour, his first and only win to date on the European Tour.

Choi won Jack Nicklaus's Memorial Tournament in 2007. He mentioned on CBS during the AT&T National that he read Jack Nicklaus's "Golf My Way" book early in his golf career, which assisted him in becoming the golfer he is today.

Choi won the first AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. The trophy is a small replica of the United States Capitol building in Washington, DC. He made a spectacular sand trap shot on the 17th hole for a birdie to clinch the win over Steve Stricker by 3 shots. Choi was a crowd favorite and threw his golf ball into the crowd after holing his sand shot on the 17th hole.

In August 2007 he reached the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time. In January 2008, Choi won the Sony Open in Hawaii and rose to world number 7.[5] In March 2008, Choi reached fifth place in the rankings.

After his 7th PGA Tour victory at the 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii, Choi donated $320,000 of his earnings to the victims' families of a warehouse fire in Seoul, South Korea, which killed over forty people.

Choi won his fourth title on the Asian Tour in Malaysia in 2009 at the Iskandar Johor Open, which was reduced to 3 rounds due to inclement weather.

In May 2011, Choi won The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in a playoff against David Toms. Choi had a one shot lead going down the 18th hole in regulation time, but Toms made birdie while Choi could only chip and putt for a par taking it to a sudden-death playoff. Both players found the green at the first extra hole, the 17th, and then missed with their attempted birdie efforts. Toms however also missed the return four footer for par leaving Choi with a three-foot par putt to seal victory. This to date is the South Korean's biggest PGA Tour victory.[6] Following his win, Choi donated $200,000 to help victims of the tornados that ravaged the southeastern United States in April.[7]

[edit] Team golf career

Choi represented South Korea in the WGC-World Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2005, and was a member of the International Team in the Presidents Cup in 2003, 2007 and 2011.

[edit] Personal life

Choi was born in Wando, South Korea. He currently resides in Southlake, Texas, near fellow South Korean PGA Tour player Yang Yong-eun.[2] He is a devout Christian[1] and member of the Korean United Methodist Church.[8] He has donated much of his money to charity through the K.J. Choi Foundation.[8]

Before picking up golf Choi was a competitive power lifter, being able to squat 350 pounds as a 95 pound 13 year-old teenager, thus aptly nicknamed "Tank" by South Koreans.

[edit] Professional wins (19)

[edit] PGA Tour wins (8)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner(s)-up
1 5 May 2002 Compaq Classic of New Orleans -17 (68-65-71-67=271) 4 strokes United States Dudley Hart, Australia Geoff Ogilvy
2 22 Sep 2002 Tampa Bay Classic -17 (63-68-68-68=267) 7 strokes United States Glen Day
3 2 Oct 2005 Chrysler Classic of Greensboro -22 (64-69-67-66=266) 2 strokes Japan Shigeki Maruyama
4 29 Oct 2006 Chrysler Championship -13 (68-66-70-67=271) 4 strokes United States Paul Goydos, United States Brett Wetterich
5 3 Jun 2007 Memorial Tournament -17 (69-70-67-65=271) 1 stroke United States Ryan Moore
6 8 Jul 2007 AT&T National -9 (66-67-70-68=271) 3 strokes United States Steve Stricker
7 13 Jan 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii -14 (64-65-66-71=266) 3 strokes South Africa Rory Sabbatini
8 15 May 2011 The Players Championship -13 (70-68-67-70=275) Playoff United States David Toms

PGA Tour playoff record (1-0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2011 The Players Championship United States David Toms Won with par on first extra hole

[edit] European Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner-up
1 21 Sep 2003 Linde German Masters -26 (63-68-64-67=262) 2 strokes Spain Miguel Ángel Jiménez

[edit] Asian Tour wins (5)

[edit] Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

[edit] Other wins (3)

[edit] Results in major championships

Tournament 1998 1999
The Masters DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT T49
PGA Championship DNP DNP
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Masters DNP DNP DNP T15 3 T33 CUT T27 41 CUT
U.S. Open DNP CUT T30 CUT T31 T15 CUT CUT CUT T47
The Open Championship DNP DNP CUT T22 T16 T41 CUT T8 T16 CUT
PGA Championship DNP T29 CUT T69 T6 T40 T7 T12 CUT T24
Tournament 2010 2011
The Masters T4 T8
U.S. Open T47 CUT
The Open Championship CUT T44
PGA Championship T39 T39

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10

[edit] Results in World Golf Championship events

Tournament 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Accenture Match Play Championship DNP R32 R64 R64 R64 R32 QF
Cadillac Championship DNP T6 T57 T43 T32 T19 T12
Bridgestone Invitational T19 T53 T58 T51 T22 T11 T16
Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012
Accenture Match Play Championship R64 DNP R32 R64
Cadillac Championship T59 DNP T39
Bridgestone Invitational T45 T46 T59
HSBC Champions DNP T30 T16

DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

[edit] Team appearances

Professional

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d "The Ultimate K.J. Choi Fan Site". 25 May 2011. http://www.kjchoi.net/kjbio.htm. Retrieved 16 June 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Nichols, Bill (8 April 2010). "Since historic win, Korean golfer finds balance with family in Southlake, at Dallas driving range". Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/golf/stories/040810dnspomasterslede.3f4ca66.html. Retrieved 11 April 2010. 
  3. ^ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
  4. ^ "Players who have reached the Top Ten in the Official World Golf Ranking since 1986" (PDF). European Tour Official Guide 09 (38th ed.). PGA European Tour. 2009. p. 558. http://www.europeantour.com/default.sps?pagegid={00387D2B-9D40-40B9-B2AC-C46939A8370B}. Retrieved 16 Jan 2009. 
  5. ^ K.J. Choi Wins Wire-to-Wire at the Sony Open in Hawaii and Climbs to World Number 7
  6. ^ "KJ Choi lands Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass". BBC Sport. 15 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/13407180.stm. Retrieved 16 May 2011. 
  7. ^ K.J. Choi to give $200,000 to relief effort
  8. ^ a b "K.J. Choi is a golf god who gives back – CNN Belief Blog". CNN. http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/17/k-j-choi-is-a-golf-god-who-gives-back/?iref=allsearch. 

[edit] External links

1974 Jack Nicklaus · 1975 Al Geiberger · 1976 Jack Nicklaus · 1977 Mark Hayes · 1978 Jack Nicklaus · 1979 Lanny Wadkins · 1980 Lee Trevino · 1981 Raymond Floyd† · 1982 Jerry Pate · 1983 Hal Sutton · 1984 Fred Couples · 1985 Calvin Peete · 1986 John Mahaffey · 1987 Sandy Lyle† · 1988 Mark McCumber · 1989 Tom Kite · 1990 Jodie Mudd · 1991 Steve Elkington · 1992 Davis Love III · 1993 Nick Price · 1994 Greg Norman · 1995 Lee Janzen · 1996 Fred Couples · 1997 Steve Elkington · 1998 Justin Leonard · 1999 David Duval · 2000 Hal Sutton · 2001 Tiger Woods · 2002 Craig Perks · 2003 Davis Love III · 2004 Adam Scott · 2005 Fred Funk · 2006 Stephen Ames · 2007 Phil Mickelson · 2008 Sergio García† · 2009 Henrik Stenson · 2010 Tim Clark · 2011 K.J. Choi†
† indicates the event was won in a playoff
Australia Robert Allenby • Australia Stuart Appleby • South Korea Choi Kyung-Ju • South Africa Tim Clark • South Africa Ernie Els • South Africa Retief Goosen • Australia Stephen Leaney • Australia Peter Lonard • Australia Adam Scott • Zimbabwe Nick Price • Fiji Vijay Singh • Canada Mike Weir
South Africa Gary Player (non-playing captain)
Tied: 17 – 17
Australia Stuart Appleby • Argentina Ángel Cabrera • South Korea Choi Kyung-Ju • South Africa Ernie Els • South Africa Retief Goosen • South Africa Trevor Immelman • Australia Nick O'Hern • Australia Geoff Ogilvy • South Africa Rory Sabbatini • Australia Adam Scott • Fiji Vijay Singh • Canada Mike Weir
South Africa Gary Player (non-playing captain)
Lost: 14.5 – 19.5
Australia Robert Allenby • Australia Aaron Baddeley • South Korea Choi Kyung-Ju • Australia Jason Day • South Africa Ernie Els • South Africa Retief Goosen • Japan Ryo Ishikawa • South Korea Kim Kyung-tae • Australia Geoff Ogilvy • South Africa Charl Schwartzel • Australia Adam Scott • South Korea Yang Yong-eun
Australia Greg Norman (non-playing captain)
Lost: 15 – 19
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Choi_Kyung-Ju&oldid=479064412"
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