K.J. Choi (Choi Kyung-Ju) is a man of many firsts. He was the first Korean to join the PGA TOUR. And just as Se Ri Pak’s achievements on the LPGA Tour inspired Korean women to join the LPGA, K.J. Choi’s success paved the way for Korean men on the PGA TOUR. Following him to the United States were Y.E. Yang (who won the PGA), Ben An (a U.S. Amateur winner who later joined LIV), Sungjae Im, K.H. Lee, S.H. Kim, Si Woo Kim (the youngest PLAYERS champ) and, most recently, Tom Kim, who became a Presidents Cup phenom.
Though Choi turned pro in 1994, he had to fulfill military service before continuing with golf. In 1999, he tried the PGA TOUR Q-School where he finished 35th, good enough at that time to get a PGA TOUR card.
In 2002, he became the first Korean to win on the PGA TOUR at the Compaq Classic of New Orleans. The next season, he won the Valspar, that year called the Tampa Bay Classic. He was making progress and a name for himself in golf. Perhaps other than THE PLAYERS, his most prestigious tournament victory was the 2007 Memorial, which is hosted by Jack Nicklaus.
During the years that he played on the PGA TOUR, Choi continued to support the Korean Tour, where he has 17 victories, and the Asian Tour, where he has seven.
Choi’s last and biggest title on the PGA TOUR was THE PLAYERS, which he won in a playoff with David Toms.
Toms had not been leading headed into the final round, nor had Choi. That distinction went to Graeme McDowell. But McDowell had a bad day of golf. Toms caught up to him, and then Choi caught Toms. It came down to the final three holes.
Toms bogeyed the 16th. Choi birdied the 17th. Then Toms birdied the 18th to tie and force a playoff.
In those days, the playoff was sudden death and the hole where everything started was — you guessed it — the 17th. It was what you could call The Great Concluder.
Both players reached the island in regulation, but Toms, traditionally an excellent putter, was let down by what most considered his best club. He missed a 3 ½-footer for par, and the bogey handed THE PLAYERS to K.J. Choi for his biggest PGA TOUR victory.
“My mind was thinking, let’s not hit it in the water; let’s try to get it on the green, and honestly that’s all that I was thinking,” he said about the island hole.
Choi credited his swing coach, Steve Bann, for helping him create a swing that didn’t break down under pressure. They had worked together for six years.
“We’ve gone through a lot of work together,” Choi said after winning. “The swing that I have right now doesn’t really break down under pressure situations. I was able to hit it precise and aggressive today, and I was able to keep my rhythm together.”
Choi said his goal at the beginning of the day was not to get carried away by the cheers and not to get affected by the pressure of the situation.
“When David Toms made that putt on the 18th for birdie, it was as loud as something you’d hear at the Masters,” Choi noted. “If I were to putt well on the 17th at the playoff, there was a chance David would make that putt, too, and we'd go into 18. But I felt comfortable. I felt comfortable playing those two holes.”
Choi may have been the only golfer ever who felt comfortable on the 17th and 18th.
As surprise during tournament week was the arrival of a following of golf fans from Tennessee who called themselves Choi’s Boys. They had come to the tournament as a group and followed him around the tournament.
“This is the first time I've ever seen them,” he said. “For them to fly all the way over just because they like me as a player and to support me the way that they did, I’m very appreciative. It’s really spectacular to see something like that.”
At one time in his career Choi lived in the Jacksonville, Florida, area and frequently practiced at TPC Sawgrass.
“I came out and practiced this course every day. But no, that doesn’t make it any easier. This course is very, very difficult,” he said.
When Choi came to the area, he purchased a home in Hidden Hills.
“I looked at houses here at TPC Sawgrass, but they were just too expensive for me to buy,” he explained. But that didn’t stop him from practicing at TPC Sawgrass. “I came every day to Sawgrass and practiced, and after 12 years, it came to fruition.”
K.J. Choi is a trailblazer indeed. He was the first Korean to play the PGA TOUR, first Korean to win on the PGA TOUR, first Korean to join the PGA TOUR Champions, first Korean to win a Champions Tour event (at Pebble Beach) and the first Korean to win a Champions Tour major at the 2024 Senior British Open.
