Korea's Choi set to open defense of PGA crown

New Orleans, (Agence France-Presse): South Korea's Choi Kyoung-ju opens defense of his first career PGA title here on Thursday at the US$5 million HP Classic.

Choi defeated Australia's Geoff Ogilvy and American Dudley Hart by four strokes here last year, then won his second PGA title last year at Tampa Bay and has taken more than $3 million since the 2002 campaign began.

"The win in New Orleans was special because now, the Korean people know what a PGA Tour victory is like," Choi said.

Choi, 28th in the world rank-ings, became the first Asian player to win twice in one season on the US PGA Tour, leading wire-to-wire on his way to a seven-stroke victory at Tampa Bay last September.

Choi, three weeks shy of his 33rd birthday, shared second at the season-opening Tournament of Champions, losing a final-round duel with South Africa's Ernie Els. But Choi missed the cut in two of his past three starts.

Fifteen Koreans play on the LPGA Tour, including four-time major champion Pak Se-ri, Grace and Gloria Park and Kim Mi-hyun. But Choi is the only Korean on the U.S. men's circuit.

"There has been a lack of male (Korean) golfers trying out for the PGA, but you see a lot of women Korean golfers on the LPGA," Choi said. "The biggest reason I can think of is because Korea is a very family-oriented society.

"It is based on a male center. For a male player to come over to the States, he would have to bring his whole family. Money-wise, it was difficult.

"I laid the foundations for more male golfers to come over to this country and play on the PGA Tour. It gave a boost to the male golfers that it needed because they were always overshadowed by the female golfers."

Local hero David Toms. the 2001 PGA Championship win ner, won here that year us well. But he has not taken a title since his major triumph. Other top U.S. entrants include Phil Mickelson and Davis Love Tiger Woods is absent.

In Williamsburg, Virginia, Sweden's Annika Sorenstam tees off Thursday at the inaugural $1.6 million LPGA Kingsmill Open with just three weeks to prepare for her groundbreaking PGA Tour debut.

Sorenstam, who captured 13 titles worldwide last year, will become the first woman in 58 years to play in a PGA Tour event at the Colonial May 22-25 in Fort Worth, Texas.

"Obviously I am excited about Colonial, but it is just one week and I want to keep everything in prespective." Sorenstam said."I am going to try and prepare like it is any other tournament, but I know it is not."

Sorenstam has plaved with men, including Tiger Woods and from men's tees to prepare for a golf challenge that will come on and off the course.

Woods and South African David Frost were supportive to Sorenstam in Practice rounds, as was her Orlando neighbor, New Zealand PGA veteran Frank Nobilo.

South Korea's Pak Sen. who won last week's LPGA event, supports Sorenstam and said she would one day consider such a move.

"She plays lor the LPGA, so we are all a family," Pak said. "Women players against PGA, that's pretty neat. We've never done that before. If she does not play good. I don't think it's negative for the LPGA."