A situation where you have to go around 25 holes without eating. It’s a tough march even for young people in their prime, but it couldn’t stop the passion of a ‘golf legend’ in his mid-50s.
This is the story of “Tank” Choi Kyung-ju (53). On the 19th, he finished the second round of the Korea Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour SK Telecom Open with an interim total of 1 under par, 141 strokes, confirming his advance to the finals. He recorded better results than Kim Bio (33, even par 142 strokes) and Jung Chan-min (24, 9 over par 141 strokes), who played in the same group, and showed the ‘power of age’.
A new milestone was also set in this competition. Choi Gyeong-ju, who holds the record for the most appearances (21) and the most victories (3) at the SK Telecom Open, the 26th, increased the record for the most cuts in the tournament to 20. Choi Kyung-ju, who also set a record for passing the cut for 12 consecutive years in this tournament, failed to pass the cut only once in the 2001 tournament.
Choi Kyung-ju played a total of 25 holes, including the remainder of the first round and the second round of the tournament held at Jeju Pinx GC (par 71) that day. From early in the morning, he played the rest of the game and went around the second round from 9:30 without eating properly.
After finishing the game with 2 under par the previous day, he was shaken by recording a double bogey at the 15th hole (par 5), only 4 holes since he started the rest of the game. However, he soon regained his composure and continued par from the next hole.
Perhaps because of his physical condition, his strong iron shot was not as sharp as expected. Because of this, birdie opportunities seldom came and the crisis continued, but I blocked it with a par without looking.
The opportunity came last. On the ninth hole (par 5), which was the last hole of the day, I put my third shot next to the pin 1.5m and caught a birdie. He said, “The moment I hit the third shot, I felt that this was a birdie.”
Photo = Provided by KPGA
Regarding Jeong Chan-min and Kim Bio안전놀이터, who played together, he praised them, saying, “The sound of hitting the ball was different.” He said, “I was interested in how the young players hit, but the body turn was different and the impact was different. I was happy to hear the sound of hitting the ball powerfully after a long time.”
Regarding Jung Chan-min in particular, he evaluated, “He is very positive even though he is a young player.
Although Power was pushed back by his juniors, he did not forget his promise to do his best until the final round as he was equipped with dignity. He said, “If it was about 6-7 under par until the second round, you can draw a picture that goes up on the weekend. However, it will be difficult to aim for the championship because the gap with the leader is too wide.” I will show you good performance,” he said.
He also revealed his plan to reward himself with pork belly after a long day. He said, “It is important to eat well in the physical fitness game,” and promised, “I will eat my favorite pork belly and rest well so that I can compete well in the game tomorrow.”