Choi eager for another victory at the Iskandar Johor Open
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There's something about Johor that makes K.J. Choi feel right at home. And this feeling is drawing him to come back for more and where better to make his triumphant return than at the Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club for the US$1.25 million (approximately RM4 million) Iskandar Johor Open this week.
The Korean is the defending champion of the prestigious tournament, which is one of the biggest events on the Asian Tour schedule. However, it is not only the lure of the winner's prize purse, all of US$198,125 (approximately RM634,000) that is making him itch for a return to the Southern state.
Like last year, Choi has pledged to donate a portion of his prize money to the people of Johor through his KJ Choi Foundation.
"It's the people. I felt so comfortable all week and felt the support of all the local fans in Johor. They really rooted for me sincerely and I could feel it. That's what made me feel right at home and I wanted to do something special for them," said Choi commenting on the local fans' support that he credited for his victory last year.
"It was a very precious win for me, and one that came unexpectedly. That win gave me the confidence and the momentum that I needed. I was going through a tough year, and my win at Johor was like an oasis in the desert. It was special," added Choi.
In last year's edition, Choi arrived in Johor with a promise for a career revival to end almost two years of title drought. He kept to his word, claiming the Iskandar Johor Open title at the Royal Johor Golf & Country Club with a final round 64 for a three-day total of 20-under-par 196 to win the championship that was reduced to 54 holes due to inclement weather.
He will arrive in Johor this week still searching for his first Tour win of the season but Choi feels he is up to the challenge at Horizon Hills. Choi started the season strongly but suffered a mediocre summer. However, he managed to advance to the Tour Championship and eventually finished 15th in the final FedEx Cup Playoff point ranking.
"I feel pretty good about my game. I feel like I'm finally understanding what my coach, Steve Bann, has been trying to accomplish with my swing, I know what I need to do and look forward to the remainder of the year and the off season," said Choi who appreciates the difficult task staring at him as he will contend against one of the toughest fields on the Asian Tour.
"Every one of them, including the rest of the field will all be a challenge. The depth of the field is very strong and everyone will have their A game. The talent level of the players on the Asian Tour has gotten stronger so I have a lot of work to do," added Choi when asked to identify his most likely challenger this week.
Besides Choi, two-time major winner South African Retief Goosen, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, the victorious 2010 Europe's Ryder Cup captain, Colin Montgomerie and reigning Malaysian Open champion, Noh Seung-yul are the leading players in the championship's illustrious field.
"I'm sure the Iskandar Johor Open 2010 will be another resounding success for the championship, which is fast gaining reputation as one of the best in the region. The presence of world class players like Choi, Goosen and the two members of the Europe's victorious Ryder Cup team, Montgomerie and Harrington as well as current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, Noh, will further boost the championship's profile," said Manjit Majid Abdullah, organizing secretary of the Iskandar Johor Open 2010.
"Local golf fans will be in for a memorable week of exciting golf of the highest quality at IJO2010. I'm sure golf fans at large, including some 400 million viewers in over 40 countries around the world will get to appreciate the masters in action this week," he added.
Sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the official regional sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia and the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia, the Iskandar Johor Open 2010 will be contested by 144 players consisting of the top 116 players on the Asian Tour ranking, the top 10 Malaysians on the PGAM Order of Merit, 10 sponsors invites, top five players from the Malaysian Qualifier and top three players from the International Qualifier.
The main sponsor of the Iskandar Johor Open is the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA). It is also supported by platinum sponsor - UEM Land Holdings Berhad, the master developer of Nusajaya which is a key driver of Iskandar Malaysia and hosted by the Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club. Other co-sponsors include 100 Plus, Auto Bavaria Johor Bahru, Blackberry, Heineken, Kuok Brothers Sdn. Bhd, Pulai Springs Resort, Ricoh, Srixon, TaylorMade-adidas Golf, Telekom Malaysia, Titoni and Winston Wine. The official media partners are Fairways, Golf Malaysia and ParGolf. The tournament is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Johor Golf Association.
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