Choi Kyung-Ju

Choi Kyung-Ju
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

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 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

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

Asian Tour wins (5)

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

Other wins (3)

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

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
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

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Choi Kyung-Ju — Choi Kyung Ju, né le 19 mai 1970, est un golfeur professionnel sud coréen évoluant sur le PGA Tour. Biographie Choi passe professionnel en 1994 et rejoint le PGA Tour en 2000. Il est le premier golfeur coréen à obtenir sa carte pour évoluer sur… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Choi Kyung-ah — 최경아 Nationalité Sud coréenne Date 20 septembre 1969 (1969 09 20) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Choi Kyung-Ju — K.J. Choi Nationalität:  Sudkorea  Südkorea Spitzname: Tank Karrieredaten Profi seit: 1993 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Choi Kyung-ah — This is a Korean name; the family name is Choi. Choi Kyung ah 최경아 Born September 20, 1968 Nationality South Korean Notable works Snow Drop Choi Kyung …   Wikipedia

  • Choi Kyung-ju — K.J. Choi Nationalität: Korea Sud  Südkorea Spitzname: Tank Karrieredaten Profi seit …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Choi Kyung-Bok — Personal information Full name Choi Kyung Bok (최경복) Date of birth March 13, 1988 ( …   Wikipedia

  • Choi (Korean name) — Choi Family name Pronunciation Ch oe, Tchoi, Chye Meaning top, most Region of origin North and South Korea Language(s) of origin Korean …   Wikipedia

  • Choi — (auch als Choe oder Ch oe transkribiert) ist ein koreanischer Familienname (Hangeul: 최). Folgende Personen tragen den Namen: Choi Byung chul (* ?), südkoreanischer Fechter Choe Chang Sop, nordkoreanischer Marathonläufer Chan Ok Choi (* 1961) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Choi Kang-Hee (footballer) — Choi Kang Hee Personal information Full name Choi Kang Hee Date of birth April 12, 1959 (19 …   Wikipedia

  • Choi Eun-Taek — Personal information Full name Choi Eun Taek Date of birth 1938 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”