KJ Choi

K.J. Choi was born in Wando, South Korea and established himself on the Asian Tour before joining the PGA Tour in 2000. Choi turned pro in 1994 and earned his first professional win at the 1996 Korean Open. In 1999 he won the Kirin Open and Ube Kosan Open on the Japan Golf Tour and earned membership on the PGA Tour. Since that time he has won 19 professional tournaments, including eight on the PGA Tour and six on the Asian Tour. His first PGA Tour win came in 2002 at the Compaq Classic of New Orleans. That would be the first of two wins that would come that year, with the second coming at the Tampa Bay Classic. From 2005 to 2008 he won four tournaments, including the 2005 Chrysler Classic of Greensboro, the Chrysler Championship in 2006, both the Memorial Tournament and AT&T National in 2007 and the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2008. In 2011 he put his name on the map when he captured The Players Championship in an epic playoff victory. Thus far he has been a solid performer in major championships, placing third in the 2004 Masters Tournament, sixth at the 2004 PGA Championship, eighth at the 2007 Open Championship and 15th at the 2005 and 2012 U.S. Open.