PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 17, 2001

K.J. Choi

K.J. CHOI: Starting No. 1, left side of the bunker in the morning is the bunker is big stone and I hit the ball on the right side of the bunker, second shot in the right side , miss in the big -- and not spin and keep going and 2-putted, four meter and bogeyed. Next hole, 11, I had tee shot, 3-wood in, and second shot was 172 yard, 7-iron on the left side. So 15 yard, downhill, too much stroke on the downslope, too much and I 3-putt and bogeyed. The par 5, the third shot in the left side of the -- in the green-side and 2-putt par; and next, the 13th hole, 3-wood and tee shot, and the second shot I had 105 yard and 52, green shot and a little more short in the backspin in the bunker and a very quick, four meters and 2-putt.

K.J. CHOI: Yes, the PGA TOUR, final this year in the second round, tied for the lead, very happy. And the last back nine was bad and front nine keep going 3-under and ties, 6-under, birdie -- yeah, I'm happy. (Laughter.)

K.J. CHOI: Maybe I am, it's me, yeah. In the PGA TOUR is better.

K.J. CHOI: I first started picking up the game of golf by watching the PGA TOUR players play, so it was basically through TV. I would watch them play. That motivated me and I wanted to become one of the PGA players, so I've had this goal ever since I was young. And as opposed to -- I mean, you see a lot of Korean girls, female golfers being pushed by the parents, but my case was different. I kind of picked it up myself. I wanted to play. It wasn't somebody, my parents, you know, saying, "I want you to play. I'm going to make you into a big star." It wasn't that. I picked it up. I watched videos. I studied how they swing and I would rewind it, play it back again, and then I would have people take video shots of myself and then I would look at that and compare that with the other PGA players. Repetitions of that improved me a lot.

K.J. CHOI: I wanted to come to the States to the PGA because way back in 1997 at the World Cup, it was in south Carolina, Kiawah Island, I saw how players were being treated very professionally, very well, and I had a good impression about that. I just felt that the PGA TOUR respected the players, and they provided everything so that the players can focus just in playing golf, focus in tournaments and not worry about other things. So that's when I made the decision that I some day wanted to come to the States and be a PGA TOUR player. And regarding settling down in Jacksonville, when I first came last year -- actually, December 1999, after I passed the Q-School, I didn't know anyone over here. So there was someone down in Jacksonville, Florida, that I knew that, you know, that could help me out, setting down, so that's why I decided to go to Florida.

K.J. CHOI: Just as background information, I'm a devout Christian, so my faith in God is very strong. At the start of the round, I had my first bogey and I wasn't -- I didn't think my condition was 100% ready. Then there was another bogey, and then three bogeys, and then at that moment, I felt that, you know, maybe this is the worst that it can get. Date before, you're 4-under, and then suddenly you're 1-under so it can't get any worse than this. I kind of started controlling myself and saying, I'm not going to make anymore bogeys, this is it." I started praying to God inside and kind of soothed down my emotions and that's what happened. From then on, it was just, you know, downhill.

K.J. CHOI: I don't live in Jacksonville anymore. I moved in early February this year to Woodlands, Texas.

K.J. CHOI: During my rookie season last year, eight months of the year was very difficult. The first four months was coming here in a new country, settling down, getting used to all different cultures and environment. Then the other four months was getting adapted to the PGA TOUR itself; was a difficult process. Learning how the players play, learning the whole atmosphere. So those eight months were a very difficult time here.

K.J. CHOI: Yes, there are several good restaurants in Houston, Korean restaurants.

K.J. CHOI: Regarding the players I looked up to -- before it was Ian Woosnam , because I felt that Ian, Woosie, had the same type of physique as I do, and so I was obviously interested in the way Woosnam swang and how he played. But now, it's Tiger Woods. I'm very interested in the way Tiger plays. And, actually, I tried to kind of swing the way that Tiger did, but I realized that, his swing did not fit my physique, so I don't think I'll get Tiger's swing. But as for the coach, I visit Phil Ritson down in Orlando maybe like four times a year and we work on a lot of stuff together.

K.J. CHOI: I don't think I can handle it -- if I win this week. (Laughs).

K.J. CHOI: The reason I moved to Woodlands from Jacksonville is I felt that it was mainly because of travel. I felt that, you know, touring the entire PGA TOUR every year, traveling from Jacksonville as opposed to traveling from Woodlands, that it would be much easier to travel from Houston, so that's why I moved. And also, there was also a Korean that I knew in Houston. As for how players are treated in the Asian Tour, it's basically, they are treated very well in Asia, also, but in the States, just generally everything is much more advanced in terms of, you know, the Tour itself, the courses. The Tour just makes it easier for players to concentrate in tournaments; and especially I was impressed by the volunteer system, where you have a bunch of volunteers, every hole. They are there to help the players, and, you know, every week, a player doesn't have to worry about transportation. It's all there. They are provided with cars, and just service-wise, I'm very impressed with the way the PGA TOUR is operating.

K.J. CHOI: A lot of the top players helped me adjust to the PGA TOUR. Some players like Vijay Singh, who I have a very good relationship with, Fred Funk, Jim Furyk, a lot of those players helped me and treated me like a very -- very humanly, very down to earth.