"It's easy to work with a guy like K.J.," says Bann, who also helped Choi with his chipping and putting. "He's a worker and mentally, with the background he has, that's a good combination. He told me, 'You fix me, and I'll win.' "
After winning the AT&T National, Choi found himself on the short list of best players without a major. "That's my goal, to become the first Asian to win a major," says Choi. "That's something I'm going to strive for, work very hard at." So far, that third-place finish at Augusta in 2004 is as close as he has come. He has three other top-10s, including a T-8 in last year's British Open at Carnoustie.
"I definitely think he can win a major, but it's a different ballgame," says Prodger, who won majors with Faldo in the 1987 British Open and 1989 Masters. "A player who wins a major knows when to attack and when not to attack. K.J. doesn't quite have all that yet, but he's getting there."
Bann notes that if Choi can win at Muirfield Village and Congressional, he could have the guts to finish off a major. "When you win four times in 15 months," the teacher says, "it doesn't matter where it is. Down the stretch, head-to-head with Tiger, K.J. would have as good a chance as anybody of sticking to his own game and getting the job done." In the quarterfinals of the WGC-Accenture Match Play, Woods chipped in for eagle on the 10th hole and made two putts to close out Choi at the 16th. Perhaps Choi will use that as motivation if they ever meet down the stretch at a major. If it's about attitude on a golf course, Choi is hard to beat.
When Choi returned to Wando last September, he was accorded a hero's welcome. The Army band played and schoolgirls ran after his car in the parade. Yim joked that Choi now had groupies. While in Korea, Choi developed plans for a foundation and announced a corporate sponsorship. He skipped last week's PODS Championship, a tournament he has won twice, and this week he will play the Ballantine's Championship at Pinx GC in Cheju-Do, the first European Tour event to be held in Korea. Last winter he quietly sponsored a trip for a young Korean player, Sung Man Lee, to work with Bann in Australia.
Charlie Wi, who played the Korean Tour with Choi a decade ago, knows the journey Choi has made. "When he was growing up, there was nothing else to do," says Wi. "It was, 'I became a farmer because my father became a farmer.' Golf was his way out. He knew he would stay there on Wando and be a farmer or try to make it in golf."
K.J. Choi finishes his lunch at Riviera, and bows his head to acknowledge it's time to hit balls. He chose the right profession.
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