K.J. Choi - Media Guide

a 5-under-par 69. Finished T8...One week later, became one of two players (Luke Donald) to post top-10s in both Hawaii tournaments with a T4 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. One shot off the 18-hole lead of Luke Donald after a 6-under 64...Carded rounds of 69-70-67-65--271 in claiming his fifth career TOUR title at the Memorial Tournament. Final-round 65 tied the low final round for a winner at the Memorial. Managed to get up-and-down for par on the final three holes to solidify the win. Joined Carl Pettersson as the second consecutive Memorial Tournament winner to have won the Chrysler Championship the year prior. Victory was special since he learned the game in native Korea by reading host Jack Nicklaus' instruction books...Five weeks after winning Nicklaus's Memorial Tournament, Choi took the title at the inaugural AT&T National, with Tiger Woods as the host. Shot a final-round 68 for a 9-under 271 total to defeat Steve Stricker by three strokes and win for the sixth time, the most TOUR victories by an Asian-born player. Gave partial credit to improved putting to the use of a larger putting grip...Posted his first top-10 at the British Open. Was two back through 36 holes at Carnoustie, but rounds of 72-71 on the weekend dropped him to T8...Held a two-stroke lead through 36 holes at The Barclays and finished second, one stroke behind third-round leader Steve Stricker. It marked the first time in his career that he didn't win after leading a TOUR event through 36 holes (4-1). Moved over the $4-million mark in a single-season earnings for the first time in his career...Entered the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup finale with an outside chance to win the FedExCup, but fell short with a T21 finish at THE TOUR Championship. Ended the PGA TOUR Playoffs fifth in the FedExCup standings, earning a $1-million bonus...Went 1-3-0 in his second Presidents Cup.

2004 PGA Championship. It was his third career top-10 in a major in 23 starts...The 2002 champion held the 36- and 54-hole leads at the Chrysler Championship. He fired a final-round 67 to win by four strokes. Choi and Shigeki Maruyama are the only Asian-born players to win multiple events on TOUR...Earned a spot in the field at THE TOUR Championship for the fourth time in his seven-year TOUR career. 2005: Won for the third time with win at the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro, becoming the second Asian player to win in Greensboro (Shigeki Maruyama, 2003). It was his fourth consecutive top-10 at Forest Oaks CC. He became the ninth player in tournament history to record four rounds in the 60s and the first winner to do so since Scott Hoch in 2001...Selected to represent South Korea at the World Cup in Portugal...Also won the SK Telecom Open by five strokes on the Asian PGA in early May, an event he won in 2003. 2004: In second Masters appearance, finished solo third, three strokes behind champion Phil Mickelson. Had a 30 on the front nine in second round and 31 on the back nine in final round. Final round included an eagle on the par-4 11th hole...Earned second top-10 in a major with a T6 at the PGA Championship. One of only 10 players to record multiple top-10s in the majors in 2004. 2003: Finished in top 30 for second consecutive season on strength of six top-10s, including a runner-up in the season-opening Mercedes Championships. Fired course-record 11-under-par 62 in third round, and entered final round two strokes back of Ernie Els. Finished eight strokes back of Els after final-round even-par 73...Ran off five consecutive top-10s, including a win on the European Tour, beginning with a T4 at the Bell Canadian Open. Posted a final-round 67 to capture the Linde German Masters, his first career victory on the European Tour. The next week in United States recorded an 8-under-par 62 in the second round, good for T7 in San Antonio, and followed that with a T6 at the WGC-American Express Championship...Was chosen by Gary Player as a Captain's Pick for the 2003 Presidents Cup. 2002: Third season on TOUR proved to be the breakthrough as he was one of three first-time winners to win twice...Became the first South Korean winner in TOUR history, closing with 5-under-par 67 for a four-stroke victory in the Compaq Classic of New Orleans. Fourth Asian to win on the TOUR, joining Isao Aoki and Shigeki Maruyama of Japan and T.C. Chen of Taiwan. Donated 10 percent of his $810,000 check to underprivileged South Koreans back home and to the Christian church his family attends near Houston...Earned his second victory in wire-to-wire fashion in his 86th career start at the Tampa Bay Classic. Became the second Asian-born player to win multiple events on the TOUR, joining Shigeki Maruyama of Japan, who earlier in the year earned his second victory at the Verizon Byron Nelson Classic...On Sept. 23, a day after his win in Tampa, had an inflamed appendix removed in Houston. Began suffering stomach pain on the eve of the final round at Tampa Bay. 2001: Finished season inside Top 125 for first time in his career...Earned card for the season via the 2000 Qualifying Tournament for second consecutive season, finishing T31. 2000: Rookie on PGA TOUR after T35 finish at the 1999 Qualifying Tournament. Finished 134th on the money list and picked up his only top-10 with a T8 at the Air Canada Championship.

his 2005 victory, donated $90,000 to the Korean Presbyterian Church in Greensboro that he has attended each year he played the tournament...He grew up the son of a rice farmer and as a teenage powerlifter earned the nickname "Tank" because he could squat 350 pounds although he weighed a mere 95. He didn't have the upper-body strength to pursue that sport, so he turned to golf at age 16.