How It All Started: The Ultimate K.J. Choi Fan Site
By Michael Ohr

It’s hard to believe it’s been eight years since my brother John and I created The Ultimate K.J. Choi Fan Site. Along the way, we’ve had so many good experiences and made many new friends.

I guess it’s appropriate to mention how the site started in the first place. But before I get to that, I’d like to give you a little background of myself. Being a 2nd generation Korean-American, I was born and raised in a nice quiet suburb of Chicago. During those years, my brothers and I did not have that much exposure with the Korean culture except at home and at a Korean church we attended but eventually English naturally became our main form of communication.

Later after college, I had the fortunate opportunity to live in South Korea for seven years to pursue my studies and work in Seoul before returning back to Chicago. During those years, I feel blessed that I got the chance to know my relatives in Korea better and just absorb what life would have been like for me if my parents had decided to move back and raise the family there.

One thing is for certain. I brought back with me an added sense of pride of being Korean. I am sure that that is the way it is with most Asian American families and the values that there parents instill in their children – the hard-work ethics and importance of respect for others.

So back to K.J. Choi. Upon returning to the States, I found a new hobby - Golf - after taking a group lesson, not to mention seeing Tiger Woods bring golf to new higher level like Michael Jordan did with basketball. It was only natural that with my experience in Korea combined with the love of golf that I should go and see K.J. Choi, the first Korean ever to earn a PGA Tour card, make his first appearance at the 2000 Western Open at Cog Hill Golf Club.

When the tournament came around, I attended one of the practice rounds with a good friend, and being the only Asian guy standing behind the ropes at one of the greens, K.J. naturally looked over to me and gave me a nod. Later, he came over and we started talking in Korean and I introduced myself. I remembered asking him if he knew anybody here in Chicago and he said no.

We talked during the next few holes between his shots and eventually I offered my assistance if he needed any during the week. I think the first thing he asked was if there was a Korean restaurant nearby. Of course, I obliged. Anyway, it was just nice to make him feel welcome in Chicago, the best sports town in the U.S. Okay, I’m biased but I had to throw that in.

After meeting K.J., I knew that someone who worked that hard to get to the PGA Tour would continue to succeed. It was also his faith in God that had a lot to do with his confidence and mental strength. Very few people knew him at the time here in the States so my brother, John, who is also an avid golfer, and I decided to create a fan site to give fans a place to support the Korean trailblazer. When we first introduced K.J. and his wife with a draft of our site, they were so appreciative of our support that they’ve adopted it as the official site.

My brother and I have certainly enjoyed running the site and witnessing K.J. Choi's rise to fame as a world class player. On behalf of K.J. and his family, we appreciate all the fan support we've received through the numerous guestbook signings and letters over the years. K.J. and his wife regularly visit the site to read the warm messages.

On a final note, this is a very exciting time to be seeing Asians achieve so much success on the world stage of golf, and all the professional tours including the PGA and LPGA.