South Korean Choi brings ‘fisherman swing’ to PGA

SOUTH Korean golfer Choi Ho-sung, who has developed a social media cult following for his ‘fisherman swing’, plays only his second US PGA event at this week’s John Deere Classic.

The 45-year-old is in the final US tune-up event for next week’s British Open on a sponsor’s exemption after missing the cut in his American debut at Pebble Beach in February.

“I’m so thankful to be playing here,” Choi said. “I can’t thank the tournament enough and I can’t wait to show my fun swing to everybody in the US.”

Choi, whose unique stepover follow through has attracted YouTube fans worldwide, won the Japan Tour’s Casio World Open last November and took the 2013 Indonesia PGA Championship.

“I just want to make the cut and see where it goes from there,” Choi said.

Choi grew up in Pohang, the son of a fisherman father and free-diver mother who was ineligible for military service due to a thumb injury and turned to golf after getting a job at a course, using golf magazines and years of work to develop his unique style with the clubs.

“I personally love my swing,” Choi said. “It’s a swing that I’ve come up with on my own for a long time, and it’s a swing that has worked for me, so I personally have no issues with my swing, and I plan to use it moving forward.”

Among Choi’s fans is Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl champion quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was paired with Choi at the Pebble Beach ProAm.

“I couldn’t really put into words all the support I received at Pebble Beach,” Choi said. “It was my first experience in the US and for fans to just swarm around me and to be at every hole, it has just been so overwhelming.”

The par-71 TPC Deere Run layout at Silvis, Illinois, will test Choi this week.

“The course is so beautiful,” he said. “But I noticed if I missed the greens, it was really tough to get up and down, so that will be something that I’ll be working on this week.”

Choi could transform himself into a British Open qualifier this week as the best topfive finisher not already qualified for Royal Portrush, the year’s final major tournament.

Qualifiers will be flown to Europe after Sunday’s final round.