This is what “Tank” Choi Kyung-ju (53, SK Telecom) told me.

During the 2014 American Professional Golf (PGA) Tour Farmers Insurance Tournament, he played a round with Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland (above the United States). Both of them had a lot of distance, so there was a gap of about 100 yards between them.

When they caught the sand wedge, Choi Kyung-ju had to hold the wood and aim for the regular on green. It was an unfair game no matter how you look at it. Then, the galleries aroused sympathy chanted ‘KJ Choi’ and sent one-sided support.

Was it because of that support? It was compared to a ‘David and Goliath’ fight, and an obvious match was expected, but the result was the exact opposite. At the end of the round, Choi Kyung-ju submitted a score two strokes ahead of them.

A similar situation arose. It was the second round of the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour SK Telecom Open (total prize money of 1.3 billion won) held on the 19th at the Pinx Golf Club in Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do.

Choi Gyeong-ju was caught in the sunset in the first round the day before and could not finish the 7th hole, reducing 2 strokes. However, he lost two strokes in the remaining holes and finished the first round with an even par.

In the second round, which was immediately resumed, Choi Gyeong-ju, who started from the 10th hole (par 4), made a continuous par march from the 10th hole (par 4) to the 17th hole, the 8th hole (par 4). And he made a 2m birdie putt on the last 9th hole (par 5) and passed the cut with a total of 1-under-par 141 for two days.

This was Choi Gyeong-joo’s 21st appearance in this tournament, and his 20th cut, the most in the tournament. He lifted the championship trophy three times by passing the cut 20 times. This is also a new tournament record.

In the first and second rounds, the players who played alongside Choi Kyung-ju were defending champion Kim Bio (33, Hoban Construction) and Jeong Chan-min (24, CJ OnStyle), winner of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open. Both are long hitters in excess of 300 yards. In particular, the difference in distance between Jung Chan-min, the longest hitter on the KPGA Korean Tour, was similar to when he hit Johnson seven years ago.

Longer distances do not always result in better results. Bio Kim reduced two strokes in the second round and succeeded in advancing to the finals with an even par of 142 strokes in the middle, but Jeong Chan-min missed the cut by hitting 9 over par for two days.

This shows that distance and score are not necessarily directly proportional. A good example is the last 9th hole. Choi Kyung-ju made a birdie at this hole two days in a row. Most of the players aimed at two-on, but Choi Kyung-ju reduced the number of strokes with a three-on strategy.

On the other hand, Jeong Chan-min, who naturally aimed for a two-on, put the ball on the green with his second shot on the first day, but ended up par with 3 putts. In the second round, his tee shot fell into the deep left rough and made a bogey.

Choi Kyung-joo, who entered the official press conference with a very tired appearance from playing 25 holes in one day, said, “I did my best in every hole, and I should have hit the pin accurately with the pin stuck in the corner.” He made a 17-hole par march in the second round and caught one birdie at the end, but the fact that he finished the game without a bogey was the happiest,” he said of his round impressions.

Regarding the birdie situation only in the 25th hole, he said, “I got a feeling when I hit the third shot. He decided that a birdie was possible if he put it to the right of the pin, and put it on the 2m uphill hook lie, which he was most confident about, and felt comfortable. But overall, it didn’t work out yesterday or today to put it at the desired distance,” he said.

When asked how he handled the game in a round with two juniors who were long hitters, Choi Kyung-ju said, “It is important to be patient and patient in golf. I was not in very good condition, but I watch with interest how the young players hit,” he said.

He continued, “The appearance of a player like Jung Chan-min was very positive. It was refreshing to see him play the ball happily and not have any complaints about not being able to play his game. He lost the score due to a few missed tee shots, but if he can manage those things well, he will be able to play well,” he said to his juniors.

After finishing this competition, Choi plans to complete other short domestic schedules before moving to the United States to participate in the competition for four weeks in a row. He revealed his future plan, saying, “I will participate in major tournaments such as the Champions Tour PGA Championship, Memorial Tournament, and Wisconsin Tournament for four consecutive weeks.”스포츠토토

He continued, “The memorial went out a lot at the invitation of Jack Nicklaus, the host. I met Jack in Houston about two weeks ago and he was delighted. I always feel like a father,” he said. “After the US Open and The Open, there is the Players Senior Championship. If you win there, you can compete in the Players next year. The TPC course requires accuracy rather than distance, so I am greedy because it suits me well.”

Meanwhile, the top spot on the leaderboard in the second round was occupied by Baek Seok-hyeon (33), a “no-look putt.” Baek Seok-hyun, who took the lead with a 9-under par in the first round, reduced three more strokes that day to record an interim total of 12-under par, 130 strokes.

Canadian compatriot Lee Tae-hoon (33) reduced 6 strokes that day to take 2nd place by 3 strokes. Lee Jae-kyung (24, CJ Onstyle), who finished the first round with a 7-under par as she was only able to reduce one stroke in the remaining 7 holes in the 1st round, scored 1-under 70 in the 2nd round as well, ranking third (intermediate total 8 under par 134). raised