“Next Year’s Goal is to Make the Cut at All Tournaments”

“It was a productive experience. My goal is to make the cut at all the tournaments next year.”

“Tank” Choi Kyoung-ju (age 33; Superior, TaylorMade) seems to have risen up to the level of stardom. It must have been frightening to be playing with the top 24 players in the world, but Choi faced the challenges and played a commanding game.

Choi’s new reputation was once again affirmed during the International team versus the U.S. men’s team contest at the 2003 Presidents Cup which concluded on November 24 at The Links Golf Course (par 73) at Fancourt Hotel and Country Club, George, Cape Province, South Africa. Choi was invited to the tournament as a wildcard. Things did not go well for Choi at the beginning of the tournament due to his poor physical condition which caused him three consecutive losses. However, later on, he ended up displaying his golf skills as he finished the tournament with two consecutive wins. Choi’s confidence was clearly displayed as he was seen joking around with his fellow players and at times waved his hand to the cheers and applauses of the crowd.

After completing the tournament, Choi commented, “It was difficult to overcome the fatigue and jet lag, as well as the feeling of unfamiliarity due to the fact that it was my first time playing in this tournament. However, I am happy to be able to contribute to my team with good play in the last two rounds. I think this has been a great opportunity for me to upgrade my game in the future, and I have newly found hopes of winning a major tournament.” Moreover, Choi stated, “It wasn’t until today that I realized I had fans all over the world. I have also realized that I must diligently prepare my game and live a model domestic life in order to satisfy my desire to show my fans something else. I am planning to focus on building up my muscular physique this winter training season.”

On the other hand, this was the first Presidents Cup to finish in a tie as the U.S. team and the International team played against each other in a close game up to the sudden death playoffs. After both teams scored seventeen points during the twelve singles matches, “Golf King” Tiger Woods played a one-on-one match against “Prince” Els from South Africa for the first time here. The match was a tight game in which both Woods and Els did not give each other the slightest opportunity for victory. It was becoming dark as the match was extended until late afternoon as Woods and Els played three sudden death matches in which none of the two came out victorious, forcing the officials to conclude the tournament as a tie.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com