Featured Group: Johnson, Garcia, Choi

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At each PGA TOUR event this season, a featured pairing will be highlighted prior to the first round. Here is the featured group for Thursday and Friday at HP Byron Nelson Championship.

The Featured Group for the first two rounds of the HP Byron Nelson Championship is an interesting international threesome.

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K.J. Choi just won THE PLAYERS Championship and comes to Dallas at the top of his game. And Sergio Garcia is a former PLAYERS champ whose game is on the upswing after a puzzling decline.

The third member of the group, Dustin Johnson, has made steady progress since joining the PGA TOUR in 2008 -- winning four times already. He had a chance to win two majors last year, too, so the talented South Carolinian is definitely comfortable on the game's grandest stages.

The venue doesn't get more challenging than TPC Sawgrass, where Choi outlasted David Toms in a playoff two weeks ago. Since his eighth -- and signature -- victory, the classy gentleman from South Korea, who celebrated his 41st birthday two days after lifting the Waterford crystal trophy, has been extremely busy.

First, there was a trip to play in the SK Telecom Open -- after which Choi announced the inaugural K.J. Choi Invitational, which will be jointly sanctioned on the Asian Tour and Korean Tour. Choi also announced he is making a $200,000 donation from his winnings at THE PLAYERS to aid the tornado relief effort in the southeastern U.S. He also threw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers' home game on Tuesday at Arlington.

Choi, who ranks seventh in the FedExCup, came to THE PLAYERS on the heels of four straight top-10s so his victory hardly came as a surprise. But the transplanted Texan, who makes his home at The Woodlands outside of Houston, has never had a top-10 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship with his best finish at tie for 26th in 2009.

Garcia, on the other hand, has won both tournaments held in the Metroplex -- making the 2001 MasterCard Colonial his first victory on the PGA TOUR and winning the HP Byron Nelson Championship three years later. The Spaniard's win at THE PLAYERS in 2008 was his seventh on TOUR -- and his most recent victory, too.

A year after that playoff victory over Paul Goydos, Garcia's came began to desert him. He posted three top-10 finishes in 2009 and just one in 2010 before Garcia opted for a two-month sabbatical in an effort to regain his passion for the game.

The time off appears to have worked. Garcia has played five times on the PGA TOUR in 2011 and has made every cut. He hasn't finished lower than that 28th place in Charlotte and is coming off a tie for 12th at THE PLAYERS and 16th at Colonial last week.

Johnson has had an eventful season to date. He opened with top-10 finishes in his first two starts, then posted his best of the season when he came in second to Nick Watney at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.

In late April, Johnson and his caddie amicably parted ways and he has been trying out several different loopers in the interim. He has not finished higher than the tie for 38th he posted at the Masters in his last four starts.

But Johnson has a good record at the HP Byron Nelson Championship with a tie for seventh last year and a share of fourth in 2009. Seven of his last eight rounds there have been in the 60s, too, so Johnson should step to the first tee at TPC Four Seasons Resort with confidence on Thursday.

Statistical comparison

Key stats from Choi, Garcia and Johnson from the 2011 season (TOUR rank in parentheses)

Catagory CHOI GARCIA JOHNSON   2011 Top 10s 5 1 3 Current FedExCup Rank 7th 78th 28th 2010 FedExCup Rank 15th 109th 5th 2009 FedExCup Rank 101st 38th 14th 2008 FedExCup Rank 10th 3rd 134th 2007 FedExCup Rank 5th 9th -- Finish Last Week DNP T16 DNP 2011 Round 1 Scoring Average 70.20 69.83 71.20 2011 Round 2 Scoring Average 70.00 69.17 71.40

Career at HP Bryon Nelson Championship

Choi Garcia Johnson Appearance 7th 11th 4th Wins 0 1 / 2004 0 Top 10s 0 3 2 Best Finish T26 / 2006 1st T4 / 2009 Last Appearance / Finish 2007 / MC 2008 / T19 2010 / T7 Round 1 Scoring Average 71.17 69.60 67.67 Round 2 Scoring Average. 70.33 69.20 68.67

Presidents Cup rematch for Choi?

Too early to start thinking about a rematch between David Toms and K.J. Choi? Never. The way these two are playing, it could come sooner rather than later. Just-around-the-corner stuff. Maybe Atlanta Athletic Club for the PGA? Better yet, what about the Presidents Cup? Column K.J. Choi said Tuesday he was not surprised to see David Toms win the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, just one week after Toms lost to Choi in a playoff that decided THE PLAYERS. Story | Video interview

Off the Course: K.J. Choi, Dustin Johnson

A fierce competitor on the course, K.J. Choi shows his lighter side at home with his family and friends when he's at home in Houston. "Without a happy family, my career wouldn't be happy," Choi said. Inside Exclusive The low country of South Carolina is a fitting home for quiet, budding PGA TOUR superstar like Dustin Johnson, but his intense workout regimen is anything but low-key. Inside Exclusive

SwingPlex: Sergio Garcia

Four-time PGA TOUR winner Bill Kratzert analyzes the swing of Sergio Garcia. One key component? He keeps his right arm under his left to trigger his long swing. Watch

EXPERT PREDICTIONS: We asked some of our PGATOUR.COM experts to predict which player will fare best this week at TPC Four Seasons:

Awtrey: Dustin Johnson: He has the power to overwhelm the TPC Four Seasons Resort course, which definitely fits his eye. He has that go-low ability needed on this tough track.

Dolch: Dustin Johnson. He has finished in the top 10 each of the last two years. That past success bodes well for this week.

Hauser: Dustin Johnson. Not sure who's on the bag, but D.J. can just bomb it here. Two top-10s the last two years here. Good place to get back on track.

FANTASY FORECAST: Rob Bolton has Dustin Johnson first in the Power Rankings, and his Fantasy Insider is also bullish on Choi this week.