Fresh Start for “Tank” Choi

Choi Kyung-joo says he likes his nickname “Tank.” According to him, the nickname describes his goal-oriented character.

Last week, however, Choi held back. He withdrew from the second round of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoff after finishing the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Back pain was the reason. However, it seems he took a few days off since he had not enough time to give his body a full rest after playing numerous tournaments and he wanted to focus on the two remaining more important games.

In a shape again, Choi is once again going after his “$10 million dream award.”

With new determination, Choi teed off at the BMW Championships at the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Illinois on September 6.

This tournament, the third tournament playoff series in the FedEx Cup, will decide the top 30 players who will enter the Tour Championship, the last of the four tournaments.

Choi Kyung-joo fell from the second to fourth place in the FedEx Cup standings when he withdrew last week. However, he is only 5713 points behind Phil Mickelson, which makes it a possibility for him to come from behind to beat him.

The top player with the highest point ranking of the four tournaments combined will receive a $10 million bonus. Choi already affirmed that he will establish a charity foundation if he receives that prize. If he wins, he will be in the first position in points and atop the leaderboard.

In order to fulfill his ambition, Choi first needs to beat Golf emperor Tiger Woods. Choi is in the same group with Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods. After Mickelson, the winner of the Deutsche Bank Championship, declined to take part in the game, saying he had to tend to his family, the three players ranking from second to fourth place, have ended up being in the same group.

Choi had also a past history of winning the championship this season in the U.S. PGA tournament course at the inaugural AT&T National and was awarded the trophy by Tiger Woods in person.

Woods showed he is on his game by grabbing three victories and finishing second two times at the Western Open. Choi first needs to forestall Woods to finish well.

Meanwhile, Korean American player Anthony Kim, who sits in 39th place, needs to move up to 30th place in this round in order to enter the final tournament.

kjs0123@donga.com