On the PGA Tour
Korea ’ s K . J . Choi was the first Asian to win THE PLAYERS Championship in 2011
Images Courtesy : GettyImages winner at age , 21 . He was the only player in the final round to be bogey-free .
“ It is very special . I feel THE PLAYERS is a major tournament . When I played there for the first time , it was a very special feeling . K . J . won as the first Korean and I had the victory next . It means a lot to me and I ’ m very proud of the youngest title , since it ’ s hard to do that at my age . Hopefully nobody will break my record . I want my name to be remembered ,” said Kim .
Following a third career win at the recent The American Express , Kim will no doubt
It means a lot to me and I ’ m very proud of the youngest title , since it ’ s hard to do that at my age . Hopefully nobody will break my record . I want my name to be remembered .
- Si Woo Kim
Hal Sutton during the 2000 PLAYERS Championship
be one of Asia ’ s leading contenders at THE PLAYERS this month . Others including Japan ’ s Hideki Matsuyama , who has two top-10s and three top-25s in six visits to
TPC Sawgrass , the ultra-talented Sungjae Im of Korea , Chinese Taipei ’ s C . T . Pan and Xinjun Zhang of China will also be chasing for a win .
Zhang , who lived in nearby Jacksonville and practiced regularly at TPC Sawgrass previously , cannot wait for his PLAYERS debut . He said : “ I ’ ve been longing to play in THE PLAYERS . I think if I can win the tournament , it will be a huge push towards China ’ s golf development .”
With two made cuts in as many appearances , Pan hopes to take advantage of The Stadium Course ’ s strategic design which does not favour any particular type of golfer . “ THE PLAYERS Championship is definitely the strongest tournament we have on TOUR . Even when you compare it to the majors , if you look at the world ranking , we have 144 of the top ranked players in the world and it ’ s a very strong field . It ’ s a fair designed golf course and every player will have a chance to win .”
Chuah Choo Chiang is senior director , International Marketing and Communications , APAC for the PGA TOUR and is based in Kuala Lumpur .
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