K.J. Choi’s victory at The Players Championship came as no surprise to those paying attention to Korea’s best golfer. He’s been on a roll for the last 15 months.
And now you can count Choi among the favorites to win the U.S. Open in June at Congressional, where he scored a victory at the 2007 AT&T National.
The playoff win over David Toms at TPC Sawgrass was Choi’s eighth victory on the PGA Tour and 16th worldwide. He advanced 19 spots to No. 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking (he’s been as high as No. 8 in September 2007). It was his seventh top 10 in 14 starts since September, including four in a row, beginning with a tie for sixth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational; T-8 at the Masters; and T-3 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He vaulted 28 places to No. 3 on the PGA Tour money list and 25 spots to No. 6 in the FedEx Cup standings.
If the Tour created a statistical category for composure, Choi would lead it. Otherwise, his numbers have been unremarkable, with the exception of ranking third in sand saves (66.15 percent) and eighth in scrambling (65.92 percent), which is the percent of time a players misses the green in regulation but still makes par or better.
Rather, it’s Choi’s tactics and on-course demeanor that have served him so well. Moreover, he has become increasingly at ease with each passing year since moving to the United States in 1999. His wife and three children are comfortable in Dallas, where much of Choi’s off-course activity is devoted to his religious faith. As Tiger Woods’ plight demonstrates, it’s good for your golf game when things are stable and happy at home.
It also helps when you have a reliable, proven support team. For Choi, who celebrates his 41st birthday on Thursday, that includes business manager Michael Yim of IMG; caddie Andy Prodger; swing coach Steve Bann; and physical trainer Simon Webb. More recently, Choi has tapped the expertise of putting coach Pat O’Brien.
After putting woes that drove Choi to a brief and ill-fated flirtation with a side-saddle technique last summer, he began working with O’Brien in February. Now Choi’s posture is more upright, which helps him to swing his arms more freely.
“K.J. was one of those guys who always had his eyes over the ball,” said O’Brien. “Consequently he didn’t release the putter and blocked a lot of putts. When I explained to him what was going on, it really resonated. We got good results right away.”
Statistically, Choi tied for sixth and eighth in the two putting categories at The Players, averaging 27.0 per round and 1.64 per green hit in regulation.
“I’m still working on it,” he said of his new technique. “It’s going to take awhile to really feel a hundred percent comfortable, but I’m going to keep on working on it.”
Choi’s arsenal is a work in progress, as well. He declined to renew his lucrative club deal with Nike after the 2009 season, opting instead for the flexibility to mix and match brands and models that best suit him.
“At this point in his career, money isn’t important,” said Yim. “It’s about achieving goals.”
Choi carried as many as three hybrids at the Masters, where he wanted to hit higher trajectory approach shots. He won The Players with a mix of TaylorMade, Ping, Miura and Titleist clubs. The switch from Ping irons to Miura, a boutique Japanese brand, occurred only this month.
The turning point for Choi began after he endured a dismal 2009 season, including a run of nine missed cuts in 16 starts beginning with the Transitions Championship in March. Over the next year, he plummeted from 20th in the OWGR to 96th in February 2010. The slump coincided with retooling his swing under Bann.
“We had to be patient,” said Bann. “But we knew we were on the right track.”
The payoff began 15 months ago, when Choi notched runner-up finishes at the Asian Tour-European Tour co-sanctioned Maybank Malaysia Open and the Transitions. That pushed Choi into the OWGR's top 50, thus earning an invitation to the Masters, where he briefly led on Sunday before ending up in a tie for fourth place.
It took awhile, said Bann, but “we’ve gotten his release to where we want it. He’s always been a bit of a hitter, where he kind of lifted at impact. Now he’s got a full body release and he’s turning through the ball.”
Meanwhile, Webb, a specialist in biomechanics and functional movement, worked with Choi to stabilize his pelvis and spine during the swing.
“Once we got his pelvis stabilized, he was able to get greater rotation through the ball,” Webb said. “And that’s enabled him to accomplish what ‘Banny’ has been trying to get him to do.”
The diminutive Prodger, who began looping for Choi at the 2004 Masters, fills the all-important role of advising him on club selection. Prodger is a 39-year veteran caddie who counts Colin Montgomerie and Nick Faldo among his former bosses. He said the equipment changes have made Choi more confident and enabled him to dial in his distance control. Plus, Prodger said, his man is having fun.
“That’s why he does very well,” said Prodger. “A lot of these youngsters ought to learn that. You need to smile out there.”
These days, Choi is smiling all the way to the bank. Don’t be surprised if he makes another big haul at Congressional.
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