South Korean golfer Choi Ho-sung after a tee shot at the fourth hole during the second round of the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup tournament at Tokyo Yomiuri Country Club in Tokyo on Nov. 30, 2018. (image: Korea PGA)
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean golfer Choi Ho-sung, a viral Internet sensation thanks to an eccentric swing, has missed the cut at his first PGA Tour event.
The 45-year-old shot a nine-over 224 after three rounds at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, on Saturday (local time). The cut was at two-under 213.
Choi opened his tournament with a 72 but followed that up with a 75 and then a 77. During the third round, Choi had two birdies and a double bogey on the front nine, and fell apart on the back nine with four bogeys and one double bogey against just one birdie.
Choi, who has two victories each in South Korea and Japan, earned an invitation to the PGA tournament last month. He’s been playing mostly in Asia.
Choi had never been to America before his Pebble Beach appearance, and he said he hoped to be back on the big tour soon.
“I’m not quite sure of my schedule yet, but if I’m lucky enough to get another invite, I’ll be happy to play in any other tournament,” Choi told PGA Tour.com through an interpreter.
Choi said he learned so much from playing in three rounds against the world’s best competition.
“I think the biggest takeaway was the greens,” he said. “They were so difficult to read, and I was getting used to them. Even on the 17th hole, I had a short putt, maybe 30-40 centimeters, and I just blew it by. So it was hard getting adjusted to that.”
Choi is best known for a swing that has been called everything from bizarre to crazy to electric.
On his follow-through, Choi lifts his right foot off the ground and swings it around his body. And his actions after the follow-through vary. Sometimes, Choi lands on his right foot as he leans forward and lifts his driver as if to will his tee shot.
On other occasions, Choi has his back turned completely on the right side of the tee and takes a few steps toward the other end of the teeing ground.
Though Choi’s funky follow-through isn’t as pronounced on his iron shots, he still takes his right foot off and walks away from the spot where he’s just struck the ball.
Videos showing Choi in action have gone viral, and U.S. instructional magazines published frame-by-frame breakdowns of Choi’s swing, which fans now refer to as “the fisherman’s swing.” Choi proved he wasn’t just a curiosity by winning the Casio World Open in Japan in November.
At Pebble Beach, Choi was paired with actor Chris O’Donnell, and the other team in the group included fellow pro Jerry Kelly and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Choi gave each of them one of his club head covers, featuring a silhouette of his signature, one-legged follow-through.
“They were such great people. And even when I had a bad shot or was struggling, they encouraged me, and they gave me words of advice out there,” he said.
“I tried to give them a gift to remind them of me, and I thought a head cover with my logo would be the best thing to do. I’m so appreciative of all the great memories that they’re making because of this week. I felt like I had the best pairing.”
(Yonhap)
