Birdie at 1st, 2nd, 3rd Hole Eagle at 5th “Tank” Choi Outstanding

Will “Tank” Choi Kyung-joo (Superior, TaylorMade) be able to achieve a jackpot dream?

Choi Kyung-joo, who earned $1,990,663 while participating in 32 tournaments in the U.S PGA tour this year, took the opportunity to make over half his earnings in one tournament. The 3rd round of Target World Challenge (total prize $5 million) was held at Sherwood Country Club (par 72), in Thousand Oaks, California on December 14.

Choi Kyung-joo recorded seven under-pars, with an eagle, eight birdies, and three bogeys to arouse his enthusiasm at the star golfers’ party ($1.2 million for winner) where only 16 of the world’s top pro golfers appeared. He is currently in sole possession of second place with an 8-under par score, trailing only Davis Love III (11-under par).

Choi Kyung-joo, finishing in fifth place after both the first and second rounds, performed his straight birdie show as he was already familiar with the course. He caught consecutive birdies at holes 1-3 and hit an eagle at the fifth hole (par 5) to lower his score by five strokes for these first five holes and to move into the lead.

He stepped back with bogeys at the sixth and seventh holes but picked up his pace with three straight birdies at holes 9-11. He added more birdies to his scoring board, making easy birdies at holes 13 and 16 (par 5’s) despite a bogey at the 12th hole.

Choi Kyung-joo looked very bright during his play, showing his confidence, and said, “My shot is getting better. I regret the three bogeys, but it couldn’t be better compared to the top golfers.”

He entered the first round with Love III at the champion group, promising to win in the final tournament on the morning of December 15.

Meanwhile, the champion of 2000, Love III, took on Tiger Woods (U.S) for two days in the same group, matched the tournament record of 9-under par, tying the record set by Padraig Harrington last year.

Woods, with his first look in white shoes since his professional debut which received a lot of attention, finished the day in only sixth place, with a 2-under par, to lose all hopes of winning. Woods had a hard time by hitting bogeys when he put three times at the 3rd hole and shot his tee-shot into the water hazard at the fourth hole.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com