Choi hoping to energize his game with Asian Tour stop

text size

Cox/Getty Images

K.J. Choi is hoping to breathe a little life back into his game at the Asian Tour's Iskandar Johor Open in Mayalsia.

JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia -- Asian Tour honorary member K.J. Choi is determined to turn his fortunes around with a win at the Iskandar Johor Open starting on Thursday.

Choi, a three-time Asian Tour winner, will have defending champion Retief Goosen of South Africa and six-time Asian Tour winner Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand for company at the $1 million, full-field Asian Tour tournament.

Iain Steel, Airil Rizman, Danny Chia and Ben Leong will lead the local challenge at the Royal Johor Country Club where an array of Asian Tour stars will vie to make their presence felt.

Choi has endured a lean spell on the PGA TOUR this year, but he is looking forward to his return to the Asian Tour, where he used to grind his professional teeth before going on to claim seven titles in the United States.

"Wins are not easy to come by as there are a lot of elements that come into place. I am going to remember this year as the year where I went through lots of trial and error. I am determined to bounce back and will have to work harder starting from tomorrow (Thursday)," said Choi.

The 39-year-old has been struggling to find his form but is confident of turning the corner in Johor.

"Being on the US PGA TOUR for the past 10 years, I have come to realize what I need to work on. The area where I need to emphasize on will be my fitness, and I will need to train my muscles for a more efficient golf swing," said Choi.

"I also need to work on my short game and analyze my shots to see which areas need more improvement. With more analysis and practice, I am confident I will be able to get to the level where I want to be," said Choi.

Meanwhile Goosen, fresh from a top-10 finish in Europe last week, is delighted to return to Johor where he ended a 21-month title drought last year.

Goosen's victory last year set him on an impressive streak with wins in Africa and the U.S. followed by four top-10s on the PGA TOUR and three in Europe this season.

"It is nice to be back and defending your title, and I am looking forward to the week ahead. The golf course has not changed much, but the prize money has, and I am glad that the tournament and the Asian Tour continue to grow," said Goosen.

Goosen reminisced how his victory brought his golf game back to life, and he is looking forward to repeating last year's feat.

"The last couple of years have not been that great. I took a month off before coming here, and I started to play more consistently and won. That set me for a good year, and hopefully, I will have a lot of luck again this week and pull me through for another good year ahead," he added.

Malaysia's Steel will also relish a return to Johor where he enjoyed a tie for fourth last year.

"My tied fourth finish was a bit of a surprise but having played on this type of course back in Kota Kinabalu, it is very familiar to me, so I do not have to change much of my game," Steel said.

"It has not been too fruitful these couple of months, but I had a good showing in India two weeks ago, so I am confident coming in this week," added Steel, whose best finish this season was a tie for ninth at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters in Malaysia.

Leong, who won his maiden Asian Tour title last year, is also hoping to be in contention and stay on track to improve on last year's result, where he tied for 14th.

"Everything was great last year, but it has been a struggle this season. I was beaming with confidence after my win, so I just need to find that belief again and hope that my putts roll in this week," said Leong.

The Iskandar Johor Open, celebrating its third edition and offering a record purse this year, is sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Johor Golf Association and Malaysian Golf Association.

The main sponsor of the Iskandar Johor Open is the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA). It is also supported by platinum sponsor - UEM Land Berhad, the master developer of Nusajaya, which is a key driver of Iskandar Malaysia. Other co-sponsors include Iskandar Waterfront Development and UM Land. Official partners are TaylorMade Adidas Golf, 100 Plus, Srixon, Winston Wine, Dewars, Ricoh and the Puteri Pacific Hotel.

News and updates on the tournament will be available on the official IJO Web site www.iskandarjohoropen.com.