K.J. Choi

Choi was born on the island of Wando, just off the coast of Korea. It was a piece of land that didn't have a golf course when he was growing up. A son of a rice farmer, he didn't see a golf club until he was 16 years old when on the advice of a high school athletics coach, he took up the game at a local driving range. At that time, his main interest was weightlifting, but the more he got involved in golf, the more he realized his work with weights negatively impacted his golf swing. He gave up his strength-training regimen and began studying Jack Nicklaus lesson books and videos, spending long hours on the practice range.
He turned professional on the Korean Tour in 1994 and finished first on the Korean Tour Order of Merit in 1997, granting him a berth on the South Korean World Cup team that played at Kiawah Island. On his first trip to America, Choi realized how much he loved the country and the PGA Tour. Over the next couple of years, he split time between the Korean, Japanese, European, and Asian tours, improving and winning multiple titles, including the 1996 and 1999 Korean Opens and two events in Japan in 1998.
In 1999, he finished T-35 at Q-School and earned a tour card. Has eight PGA Tour victories, including the 2011 Players Championship, 2007 Memorial Tournament, and 2007 AT&T National. Was a member of the 2003, 2007, and 2011 Presidents Cup teams.
2012 Notes: Finished 102nd on the money list with earnings of $969,057, his first time outside the top 100 since his first year on the PGA Tour in 2000. In early October, he successfully defended his CJ Invitational title, an Asian Tour event he hosts. He donated his winnings of just under $120,000 to the K.J. Choi Foundation. His charitable work earned him the 2013 Golf Writers Association of America's Charlie Bartlett Award.
2013 Notes: Made the cut in 20 of 24 starts with a 6th place finish at the Valero Texas Open, the best of two top-10 showings. He ended the year 73rd in the FedEx Cup race and 85th on the money list.
2014 Notes: Finished T-2nd at the Farmers Insurance Open after a first-round 74 and a T-2nd at the Travelers Championship when he finished just a shot back. In 23 starts, made the cut 17 times, was 69th in the FedExCup race, and 59th on the money list.
2015 Notes: Played in 19 events and made the cut in 14 of them. He only had two top-25 finishes, T-22nd Waste Management Phoenix Open and T-15th at the Valero Texas Open. For the first time in nine years didn't get into the FedExCup Playoffs, finishing 152nd in the rankings and 161st on the money list. He was a vice-captain to Nick Price for the International team at The Presidents Cup in his homeland of South Korea. At the K.J. Choi Invitational on the Korean Golf Tour in mid-October 2014, served as tournament host and contended at the event, finishing T-3rd.
2016 Notes: Played in 22 PGA Tour events, making 14 cuts with two top-ten finishes. He was 91st in the FedExCup standings. At the Farmers Insurance Open was the 54-hole leader and was caught up in the poor weather on Sunday. Finished on Monday and missed a birdie putt on the 72nd hole that would have forced a sudden-death playoff with Brandt Snedeker. His runner-up finish was his first since the 2014 Travelers Championship. 3 weeks later finished T-5th at the Northern Trust Open. In May finished T-5th in the SK Telecom Open on the Korean Tour. In the FedExCup playoffs, missed the cut at the Barclays and Deutsche Bank.
2017 Notes: He played in 25 PGA Tour events, making 11 cuts and three top-25 finishes. He was 177th on the FedExCup points list. His best finish was T-17th at the Genesis Open.
2018 Notes: He played in 14 PGA Tour events, making six cuts and one top-10. He was 188th on the FedExCup points list. Best finish T-5th at the Corales Puntacana.
2019 Notes: He played in seven PGA Tour events, and his best finish was T-10th at the RBC Heritage.
2020 & 2021 Notes: In 2020, played in nine PGA Tour events, best finish was T-16th at the CJ Cup@Nine Bridges. He debuted on the PGA Tour Champions with a T-27th finish at the 2020 Ally Challenge. Was T-7th at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National and T-6th at the Dominion Energy Charity. Ended 2020 with a T-28th finish at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. In 2021 was T-3rd at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, five shots back of winner Alex Cejka. Finished T-4th at the 2021 Ally Challenge, three shots back of winner Joe Durant. Leading by two entering the final round of the 2021 Sanford International, Choi shot 69 in the final round but found himself in a playoff with Darren Clarke, who birdied the second playoff hole. He won his first PGA Tour Champions event at the 2021 Pure Insurance Championship and became the first PGA Tour Champions winner from South Korea. In the final round, Choi shot 31 on the front nine at Pebble Beach and held on for a two-shot win over Bernhard Langer and Alex Cejka. Shot a final round 67 to finish T-6th at the TimberTech Championship, six shots back of winner Steven Alker. At the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, finished T-24th. He played in 21 PGA Tour events in 2021, making six cuts. His best finish was T-30th at the Valero Texas Open.
2022 Notes: Played in 20 PGA Tour Champions events with three top-tens. He was 16th in the Schwab rankings and 19th on the money list, earning $875,135. He had his second runner-up finish at the Hoag Classic, shot a final round 66 to finish 2nd, and was four shots back winner Retief Goosen. Shot a final round 65 to finish T-4th at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, seven shots back of winner Steven Alker. Shot 65-67 over the weekend to finish 2nd at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, a shot back of the winner Steven Alker. In the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship was 28th. This was his first full year in Senior Golf, only playing three times on the PGA Tour.
2023 Notes: He played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events and earned six top-ten finishes. He was 17th in the Schwab rankings and 16th on the money list, earning $1,187,209. He finished T-7th at the Hoag Classic and T-3rd at the Kaulig Companies Championship, four shots back of winner Steve Stricker, after rounds of 70-66-69-68. It was his sixth top-3 finish on the PGA Tour Champions in his first 53 starts. He made a hole-in-one in the second round on No. 5 with a 5-iron from 208 yards. He closed with 65 to finish T-3rd at the Boeing Classic, his second top-3 in a three-start span. He opened with rounds of 69-72 to post 10-under. Fired rounds of 69-65-66 at the Shaw Charity Classic presented by Rogers to claim T-7th honors. Finished runner-up at the Sanford International for the second time in three years. Choi was a shot behind winner Steve Stricker as Choi posted scores of 62-68-65 to shoot 15-under. It was his third top-3 finish of the 2023 season. Was T-8th in the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2024 Notes: Was T-5th at the Hoag Classic, four shots back of winner Padraig Harrington. Was T-4th at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, five shots back of winner Stephen Ames. Was T-6th at the Regions Tradition, six shots back of winner Doug Barron.