K. J. Choi
Choi in June 2011
Personal information
Full name	Choi Kyung-Ju
Nickname	Tank, Hawkeye[1]
Born	(1970-05-19) 19 May 1970 (age 53) Wando, South Korea
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Sporting nationality	South Korea
Residence	Southlake, Texas, U.S.
Spouse	Hyunjung Kim[1]
Children	3[1]
Career
College	Gwangju University
Turned professional	1994
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Japan Golf Tour Asian Tour Korean Tour
Professional wins	31
Highest ranking	5 (9 March 2008)[2]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	8
European Tour	1
Japan Golf Tour	2
Asian Tour	6
PGA Tour Champions	1
Other	13
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	3rd: 2004
PGA Championship	T6: 2004
U.S. Open	T15: 2005, 2012
The Open Championship	T8: 2007
Achievements and awards
Korean Tour Rookie of the Year 1995 Korean Tour Order of Merit winner 1996, 1997 Korean Tour Player of the Year 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003 Asia Golf Circuit Order of Merit winner 1999[3]

Choi Kyung-Ju (Korean: 최경주; born 19 May 1970), commonly known as K. J. Choi, is a South Korean professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Since turning pro in 1994, he has won more than twenty professional golf tournaments worldwide, including eight on the PGA Tour. His most notable victory came at the 2011 Players Championship, and he has spent 40 weeks in the top-10 of the world rankings.^[4][5]

Professional career

Choi turned professional in 1994 after fulfilling his military obligation.^[6]

After establishing his career on the Korean Tour, where he picked up his first professional win in 1995, and the Japan Golf Tour, where he won twice in 1999, Choi qualified for membership of the U.S.-based PGA Tour by finishing tied 35th at the 1999 qualifying tournament. He was the first Korean to earn a PGA Tour card. In his rookie season in 2000 he finished 134th on the money list and had to requalify, but since 2001 he has been a consistent performer on the tour. In 2002 he became the first Korean to win on the PGA Tour at the Compaq Classic of New Orleans, and followed it up with another victory at the Tampa Bay Classic later that year.

In 2003 he won the Linde German Masters on the European Tour, his first and only win to date on the European Tour.^[7]

Choi won Jack Nicklaus's Memorial Tournament in 2007. He mentioned on CBS during the AT&T National that he read Jack Nicklaus's "Golf My Way" book early in his golf career, which assisted him in becoming the golfer he is today.

Choi won the first AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. The trophy is a small replica of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC. He made a spectacular sand trap shot on the 17th hole for a birdie to clinch the win over Steve Stricker by 3 shots. Choi was a crowd favorite and threw his golf ball into the crowd after holing his sand shot on the 17th hole.

In August 2007 he reached the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time. In January 2008, Choi won the Sony Open in Hawaii and rose to world number 7.^[8] In March 2008, Choi reached fifth place in the rankings.

After his 7th PGA Tour victory at the 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii, Choi donated $320,000 of his earnings to the victims' families of a warehouse fire in Seoul, South Korea, which killed over forty people.

Choi won his fourth title on the Asian Tour in Malaysia in 2009 at the Iskandar Johor Open, which was reduced to 3 rounds due to inclement weather.

In May 2011, Choi won The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in a playoff against David Toms. Choi had a one shot lead going down the 18th hole in regulation time, but Toms made birdie while Choi could only chip and putt for a par taking it to a sudden-death playoff. Both players found the green at the first extra hole, the 17th, and then missed with their attempted birdie efforts. Toms however also missed the return four footer for par leaving Choi with a three-foot par putt to seal victory. This to date is the South Korean's biggest PGA Tour victory.^[9] Following his win, Choi donated $200,000 to help victims of the tornadoes that ravaged the southeastern United States in April.^[10]

In February 2016, Choi finished runner-up at the Farmers Insurance Open to Brandt Snedeker, during a Monday finish to the weather disrupted event. This was notable because it was the first time in Choi's PGA Tour career that he did not convert a 54-hole lead or co-lead into a win. He was previously 5 for 5 in converted 54 holes leads to victories. The result moved Choi up 197 places in the world rankings from 334th to 137th. Choi continued his good early season from at the Northern Trust Open where he finished in a tie for fifth, despite holding the co-lead during the final round. This moved Choi to just outside the top 100 at 102nd in the rankings.

In May 2020, Choi turned 50 years of age and qualified for the PGA Tour Champions. In September 2021, Choi won his first tournament on that tour, the PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California.^[11]

In November 2022, Choi visited Vietnam to co-design Amber Hills Golf & Resort, Rock Valley Course with golf architect Paul Albanese in Bac Giang province near Hanoi^[12]

Team golf career

Choi represented South Korea in the WGC-World Cup in 2002, 2003, and 2005, and was a member of the International Team in the Presidents Cup in 2003, 2007, and 2011.

Personal life

Choi was born in Wando, South Korea. He currently resides in Southlake, Texas, near fellow South Korean PGA Tour player Yang Yong-eun.^[13] He is a devout Christian^[1] and member of the Korean United Methodist Church.^[14] He has donated much of his money to charity through the K.J. Choi Foundation.^[14]

Before picking up golf Choi was a competitive power lifter, being able to squat 350 pounds (159 kg) as a 95-pound (43 kg) 13-year-old, thus aptly nicknamed "Tank" by South Koreans.

Choi played the role of professional golfer T.K. Oh in the movie Seven Days in Utopia.

Professional wins (31)

PGA Tour wins (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	5 May 2002	Compaq Classic of New Orleans	68-65-71-67=271	−17	4 strokes	Dudley Hart, Geoff Ogilvy
2	22 Sep 2002	Tampa Bay Classic	63-68-68-68=267	−17	7 strokes	Glen Day
3	2 Oct 2005	Chrysler Classic of Greensboro	64-69-67-66=266	−22	2 strokes	Shigeki Maruyama
4	29 Oct 2006	Chrysler Championship (2)	68-66-70-67=271	−13	4 strokes	Paul Goydos, Brett Wetterich
5	3 Jun 2007	Memorial Tournament	69-70-67-65=271	−17	1 stroke	Ryan Moore
6	8 Jul 2007	AT&T National	66-67-70-68=271	−9	3 strokes	Steve Stricker
7	13 Jan 2008	Sony Open in Hawaii	64-65-66-71=266	−14	3 strokes	Rory Sabbatini
8	15 May 2011	The Players Championship	70-68-67-70=275	−13	Playoff	David Toms

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2011	The Players Championship	David Toms	Won with par on first extra hole

European Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	21 Sep 2003	Linde German Masters	63-68-64-67=262	−26	2 strokes	Miguel Ángel Jiménez

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	25 Apr 1999	Kirin Open1	65-68-71=204*	−9	Playoff	Jeev Milkha Singh
2	23 May 1999	Ube Kosan Open	69-65-66-72=272	−16	3 strokes	Kazuhiko Hosokawa

*Note: The 1999 Kirin Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
¹Co-sanctioned by the Asia Golf Circuit

Japan Golf Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1999	Kirin Open	Jeev Milkha Singh	Won with par on first extra hole

Asian Tour wins (6)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	19 Sep 1999	Kolon Korea Open1	71-71-67-69=278	−10	1 stroke	Kyi Hla Han
2	28 Jun 2003	SK Telecom Open1	64-69-68=201*	−15	Playoff	Shin Yong-jin
3	8 May 2005	SK Telecom Open1 (2)	67-71-68-69=275	−13	5 strokes	Andrew Buckle, Fred Couples
4	25 Oct 2009	Iskandar Johor Open	68-64-64=196*	−20	4 strokes	Chapchai Nirat
5	23 Oct 2011	CJ Invitational1	67-70-67-67=271	−17	2 strokes	Noh Seung-yul
6	7 Oct 2012	CJ Invitational1 (2)	69-65-68-67=269	−15	2 strokes	Bae Sang-moon, Jang Dong-kyu

*Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to weather.
¹Co-sanctioned by the Korean Tour

Asian Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2003	SK Telecom Open	Shin Yong-jin	Won with birdie on second extra hole

Korean Tour wins (16)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	21 May 1995	Phantom Open	67-71-69-73=280	−8	2 strokes	Park Nam-sin
2	15 Sep 1996	Elord Korea Open	69-73-69-68=279	−9	1 stroke	Kim Jong-duck
3	25 May 1997	Phantom Open (2)	66-68-70-71=275	−13	4 strokes	Jung Do-man
4	22 Jun 1997	Astra Cup KPGA Championship	70-66-66-69=271	−17	5 strokes	Park Nam-sin
5	28 Jun 1997	Daily Sports Pocari Open	69-70-74=213*	−13	1 stroke	Nam Young-woo
6	19 Sep 1999	Kolon Korea Open1	71-71-67-69=278	−10	1 stroke	Kyi Hla Han
7	16 Oct 1999	KPGA Cup	72-66-65-71=274	−14	2 strokes	Park No-seok
8	12 Nov 2000	Superior Open	71-65-71-71=278	−10	2 strokes	Kim Tae-hoon, Suk Jong-yul
9	28 Jun 2003	SK Telecom Open1	64-69-68=201*	−15	Playoff	Shin Yong-jin
10	10 Oct 2004	SBS Dongyang Fire Cup	71-68-73-69=281	−7	1 stroke	Lee Boo-young
11	8 May 2005	SK Telecom Open1 (2)	67-71-68-69=275	−13	3 strokes	Andrew Buckle, Fred Couples
12	14 Oct 2007	Shinhan Donghae Open	70-69-70-66=275	−13	1 stroke	Suk Jong-yul
13	20 Apr 2008	SK Telecom Open (3)	71-64-71-66=272	−16	4 strokes	Kang Kyung-nam
14	27 May 2008	Shinhan Donghae Open (2)	70-69-70-66=275	−13	3 strokes	Hur Suk-ho
15	23 Oct 2011	CJ Invitational1	67-70-67-67=271	−17	2 strokes	Noh Seung-yul
16	7 Oct 2012	CJ Invitational1 (2)	69-65-68-67=269	−15	2 strokes	Bae Sang-moon, Jang Dong-kyu

*Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to weather.
¹Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour

Korean Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2003	SK Telecom Open	Shin Yong-jin	Won with birdie on second extra hole
2	2005	Shinhan Donghae Open	Kim Jong-duck	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	23 Mar 1996	Parmax Invitational	72-70-71=213	−3	6 strokes	Lim Jin-han
2	30 Nov 2008	LG Skins Game	US$415,000		$165,000	Stephen Ames

PGA Tour Champions wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	26 Sep 2021	PURE Insurance Championship	67-68-68=203	−13	2 strokes	Alex Čejka, Bernhard Langer

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	2021	Sanford International	Darren Clarke, Steve Flesch	Clarke won with birdie on second extra hole Flesch eliminated by par on first hole

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (2003 Open Championship – 2005 PGA)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (six times)

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2011	The Players Championship	1 shot deficit	−13 (70-68-67-70=275)	Playoff	David Toms

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Results in senior major championships

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

Professional

• World Cup (representing South Korea): 1997, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2013
• Presidents Cup (International Team): 2003 (tie), 2007, 2011