Some of the best golfers from Asia have arrived in South Korea to compete at the $750,000 C.J. Invitational hosted by Players Championship winner K.J. Choi.
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| K.J. Choi celebrates his putt to save par on the 18th hole as caddie Andy Prodger looks on during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship held at THE PLAYERS Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass on May 15, 2011 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Photo by Zimbio |
PGA Tour veteran Choi, who finished third and fourth at the U.S. Masters in 2004 and 2010 respectively and is currently ranked No. 14 in the world, has invited 55 golfers from the Korean Tour, 55 from the Asian Tour and 10 on behalf of sponsors to join him at the par-72, 7,229 yard Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club in Yeoju.
"At this tournament, I want to play with young players with potential and give them a stepping stone," Choi was quoted as saying by South Korean news agency Yonhap. "There are a lot of things to take care of as both a player and the host of the event. I will try to do my best and hopefully that will lead to a great result."
One of the up-and-comers to accept an invitation is Korean-American Anthony Kim, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour.
"He\'s an epitome of what a Korean golfer should be," Kim said of Choi. "He\'s a well-respected man. I am trying to follow in his footsteps. Hopefully, I can put on a good show in his first tournament."
As well as Kim, some of the top Asian-based players will be on show and, led by Bangladesh\'s Siddikur Rahman, they paid tribute to Choi.
"When I was growing up, I knew K.J. Choi\'s name," said Siddikur. "He\'s the No. 1 player from Korea and he\'s very famous around the world. He\'s giving back a tournament which is nice. It\'s great for us. There are some players whom I like and K.J. is one of them.
"He played on the Asian Tour before going on to become a star on the U.S. tour," he added. "It\'ll be nice if I have a chance to win his tournament. I\'m hitting it quite good the past few weeks, so I\'m happy with my form."
The sentiments were echoed by Chinese veteran Zhang Lianwei.
"I think it is great that K.J. is hosting this tournament on the Asian Tour. He started his career with us and for him to do something like this speaks well of his intentions and his heart," Zhang said. "I\'m grateful that he has given me an invitation to play in his tournament as we used to play a lot together in the past in Asia."
Choi long sought to become the first Asian to win a major, but that honor went to compatriot Y.E. Yang who took the 2009 PGA Championship. That doesn\'t mean that Choi has given up on that dream.
"The fire is strong and it will always be," he said. "However, even if I don\'t win a major, I\'m still very grateful for what I\'ve achieved. Honestly, it\'s so much more than what I had imagined."
South Korean conglomerate C.J. has announced it will sponsor Asian Tour-Korean Tour co-sanctioned event for next three years.