Choi Kyung-ju Tied for 96th; Charlie Wi Tied for 116th

Korean golf stars Choi Kyung-ju (37, Nike Golf) and Charlie Wi (35, Taylor Made) struggled yesterday.

Choi Kyung-ju scored a 2-over-par 74 with 3 birdies and 5 bogies in the 1st round of the PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am held at the Poppy Hills Golf Course (72 par) in Pebble Beach near San Francisco, California on February 9. Charlie Wi scored a 3-over-par 75 with 3 birdies, 4 bogies and a double bogie.

Choi Kyung-ju was pushed down to 96th, 9 strokes short of the leader group and is facing the risk of missing the cut for two consecutive weeks following the FBR Open last week. Charlie Wi was tied for 116th.

Phil Mickelson (U.S.) had a weak start, but ended up tied for the lead at 7-under-par 65 with John Mallinger and Nick Watney (both from the U.S.), hitting an eagle and 5 birdies without a bogie yesterday. He is expecting his first victory of the season.

why@donga.com