FedEx St. Jude Classic & U.S. Open Updates
June 12, 2001
K.J. Choi posted two solid rounds of 4-under par 67 and 5-under par 66, last Thursday and Friday, respectively, finding himself at 9-under par and placing him confidently well-positioned in the Top 10 going into the weekend at theFedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tennessee. Despite fewer birdies in rounds 3 and 4, he played steady bogeying only three holes and finished tied for 19th with 10-under par 274 on Sunday.
He is currently ranked 60th on the PGA Money List at $455,774.
The champion, Bob Estes, who led in all four rounds, ended a 162-tournament dry spell since 1994, shooting 17-under par 267.
K.J., who has recently been nicknamed "The Tank" (for his muscular build and powerful compact swing), couldn't have picked a better time to find his swing with the 2001 U.S. Open coming up this week.
For the past several months,
he has been struggling with his driving and GIR %, as can be seen in the table
below under Current Average Stats. However, his performance at the FedEx showed
considerable improvement in those two areas.
| FedEx St. Jude Stats |
Rd
1
|
Rd
2
|
Rd
3
|
Rd
4
|
4-Rd
Tot
|
Curr
Avg Stat
|
| Driving Accuracy |
71.4%
|
85.7%
|
78.6%
|
50.0%
|
71.4%
|
61.1%
|
| Driving Distance |
279.5
|
280.0
|
291.0
|
284.0
|
283.6
|
280.6
|
| Putts Per GIR |
1.714
|
1.706
|
1.889
|
1.846
|
1.774
|
1.751
|
| Greens in Regulation % |
77.8%
|
94.4%
|
50%
|
72.2%
|
73.6%
|
64.2%
|
Overall, it's a positive sign that he has regained his confidence in his swing.
Using his steady performance last week at the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier and the FedEx St. Jude Classic, as a springboard, K.J. hopes to keep the momentum going through this week.
He will be paired with Brandt Jobe and Jay Williamson on Thursday and Friday at the 2001 U.S. Open. Their group will tee off after Tiger Woods' group.
Tee times are as follows:
| Day / Date | Tee Time (Eastern) | Playing Partners |
| Thursday, 6/14 | 1:40p.m. | Brandt Jobe, Jay Williamson |
| Friday, 6/15 | 9:20a.m. | Brandt Jobe, Jay Williamson |
Reported by Michael Ohr (K.J. Fan Central)