- Choi Kyung-Ju
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Choi Kyung-Ju
최경주
Choi hits a drive during a 2005 PGA Championship practice round at Baltusrol Golf ClubPersonal information Nickname Tank, Hawkeye[1] Born 19 May 1970
Wando, South KoreaHeight 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Weight 185 lb (84 kg) Nationality 
South KoreaResidence 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 TourProfessional 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
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]
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 and 2007.
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.
Professional wins (19)
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 
Dudley Hart, 
Geoff Ogilvy2 22 Sep 2002 Tampa Bay Classic -17 (63-68-68-68=267) 7 strokes Glen Day3 2 Oct 2005 Chrysler Classic of Greensboro -22 (64-69-67-66=266) 2 strokes 
Shigeki Maruyama4 29 Oct 2006 Chrysler Championship -13 (68-66-70-67=271) 4 strokes Paul Goydos, Brett Wetterich5 3 Jun 2007 Memorial Tournament -17 (69-70-67-65=271) 1 stroke Ryan Moore6 8 Jul 2007 AT&T National -9 (66-67-70-68=271) 3 strokes Steve Stricker7 13 Jan 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii -14 (64-65-66-71=266) 3 strokes 
Rory Sabbatini8 15 May 2011 The Players Championship -13 (70-68-67-70=275) Playoff David TomsPGA Tour playoff record (1-0)
No. Year Tournament Opponent Result 1 2011 The Players Championship David TomsWon with par on first extra hole 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 
Miguel Ángel JiménezAsian Tour wins (5)
- 1999 Kolon Korean Open
- 2003 SK Telecom Open
- 2005 SK Telecom Open
- 2009 Iskandar Johor Open
- 2011 CJ Invitational (co-sanctioned by Korean Tour)
Japan Golf Tour wins (2)
- 1999 Kirin Open, Ube Kosan Open
Other wins (3)
- 1996 Korean Open
- 2008 LG Skins Game, SK Telecom Open (Korean Tour)
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-10Results 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 Accenture Match Play Championship R64 DNP R32 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.Team appearances
Professional
- World Cup (Representing South Korea): 2002, 2003, 2005
- Presidents Cup (International Team): 2003 (tie), 2007, 2011
See also
- List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
- 1999 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 2000 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
References
- ^ a b c d "The Ultimate K.J. Choi Fan Site". 25 May 2011. http://www.kjchoi.net/kjbio.htm. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
- ^ "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.
- ^ K.J. Choi Wins Wire-to-Wire at the Sony Open in Hawaii and Climbs to World Number 7
- ^ "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.
- ^ K.J. Choi to give $200,000 to relief effort
- ^ 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.
External links
- Choi Kyung-Ju at the PGA Tour official site
- Choi Kyung-Ju at the Asian Tour official site
- Choi Kyung-Ju at the Japan Golf Tour official site
- Choi Kyung-Ju at the European Tour official site
- Choi Kyung-Ju at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
Players Championship champions 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 playoffInternational Presidents Cup team – 2003 Robert Allenby • Stuart Appleby • Choi Kyung-Ju • Tim Clark • Ernie Els • Retief Goosen • Stephen Leaney • Peter Lonard • Adam Scott • 
Nick Price • 
Vijay Singh • 
Mike Weir
Gary Player (non-playing captain)Tied: 17 – 17International Presidents Cup team – 2007 Stuart Appleby • 
Ángel Cabrera • Choi Kyung-Ju • Ernie Els • Retief Goosen • Trevor Immelman • Nick O'Hern • Geoff Ogilvy • Rory Sabbatini • Adam Scott • Vijay Singh • Mike Weir
Gary Player (non-playing captain)Lost: 14.5 – 19.5International Presidents Cup team – 2011 Robert Allenby • Aaron Baddeley • Choi Kyung-Ju • Jason Day • Ernie Els • Retief Goosen • Ryo Ishikawa • Kim Kyung-tae • Geoff Ogilvy • Charl Schwartzel • Adam Scott • Yang Yong-eun
Greg Norman (non-playing captain)Lost: 15 – 19Categories:- South Korean golfers
- Asian Tour golfers
- Japan Golf Tour golfers
- PGA Tour golfers
- Asian Christians
- People from Jeollanam-do
- 1970 births
- Living people
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