Korea's K.J. Choi Revisits The British Open at Muirfield
July 18, 2002
It's a little known fact that K.J. Choi had made his first appearance at the British Open in 1999. It not only marked playing in his very first Major, but also opened his eyes to the Western World.
As most of us can remember, it was also the year that Frenchman Jean Van De Velde had his infamous meltdown on the 18th hole in the final round to eventually end up losing to Paul Lawrie in a playoff.
Playing on a special exemption in reward for his superb play on the Asian PGA Tour, where he had won twice in Japan, more notably the Kirin Open and Ube Kosan Open, K.J. was rudely welcomed by the ferocious winds of Scotland's Carnoustie. K.J. made the cut in his debut and finished in 49th place.
Three years later, K.J. is back in Scotland ready to tackle another wind-driven, strategically placed bunkered course, the 7,034 yard, par 71, Muirfield Golf Links.
A decade has passed since Nick Faldo won his third Open here. Other than a few modifications to the course, not much else has changed. With over a hundred years of tradition, which includes past winners like Vardon, Hagen, Nicklaus and Watson, Muirfield stands the test of time and continues to challenge modern players.
To
better prepare for this Major, K.J. skipped the Greater Milwaukee Open last
week - to the dismay but understanding of his diehard fans in Milwaukee -
and arrived in Scotland on Sunday with his family.
In the past few days, sports writers and golf analysts have been making their predictions and keying in on players to watch for during the British Open. Unfortunately for K.J., he's not one of them. Perfectly understandable, since this is only Choi's second visit to Scotland, where he will have to face uncommon winds, bunkers, and rough.
We, at K.J. Fan Central, know better and believe he has much of a chance at the Open as any other player, be it Tiger Woods or first-time Open rookie Matt Kuchar.
Here's our take on K.J.'s chances --
With almost three PGA seasons under his belt, he's a formidable player who has gained enormous confidence, experience and patience playing side by side with the world's best. This is not the same K.J. Choi who stepped foot on European soil a few years back.
He has already earned
a reputation for playing well under pressure as seen during his win at the
Compaq Classic in May, and
continues to feel comfortable playing with his new and improved clubs. Plus,
he enjoys playing courses 7,000 yard in length, like Muirfield, which he feels
fits his style of play. Considered one of the best putters on Tour, if he
can manage to stay on the fairway and hit more greens this week, he has a
good chance to be the surprise underdog of the tournament.
K.J.'s Tee
& TV Times (U.S. Eastern):
|
Rd
1 (07/18)
|
Rd
2 (07/19)
|
Playing Partners |
|
8:57a.m.
|
4:01p.m.
|
Davis Love III, Colin Montgomerie |
|
Day
|
Channel
|
Time
|
| Thurs., 07/18 |
ESPN
|
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Fri., 07/19 |
ESPN
|
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Sat., 07/20 |
ABC
|
9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. |
| Sun., 07/21 |
ABC
|
8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. |
Reported by Michael &
John Ohr
K.J. Fan Central
Photo of K.J. & family from AsianPGATour.com