New Delhi: Asian Tour honorary member K.J. Choi is ready to roll out the red carpet for his guests when he returns home to host his own Asian Tour tournament, the CJ Invitational Hosted by KJ Choi next week.
Following the success of the inaugural event in 2011, the CJ Invitational will once again be staged at the Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club from October 4-7 and offers a total prize fund of US$750,000.
Last year, Choi took a hands-on approach in his own tournament by ensuring that everyone who attended the event enjoyed a week of top notch golfing action expected of a world-class golf tournament.
Choi believes that this year’s tournament, which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Korean Golf Tour, will not be any different.
“This year, the tournament is going to be very well prepared, especially since we already went through the basics last year. Our implementation team at IMG will do a great job,” said Choi.
Choi worked alongside the event team to ensure the roping for the galleries was done properly to allow crowds to watch the action comfortably and he also enforced a ban on cameras and cell phones.
“Last year's tournament was a big hit when we enforced a no cell phone policy and the gallery was very receptive and respectful. I believe this policy has established itself at our event and I expect the gallery to behave in the same respectful and courteous manner as they were last year,” said Choi.
He also moved several tee boxes forward to ensure the galleries could watch the action from the back of the tees.
“The only decision I would be involved is if we have to move the tee boxes forward or back as we discuss with the golf course. We want to be able to make it viewer friendly for the gallery and at the same time provide an easy flow of traffic between the players and the gallery,” said Choi.
Having lived in Dallas for many years, Choi is looking forward to his homecoming which will give him the opportunity to reunite with his peers and fans from Asia.
“I have been especially looking forward to returning to my tournament and competing against my fellow Asian Tour and Korean Tour players,” said Choi.
Choi, winner of the Players Championship – dubbed the unofficial fifth Major - on the PGA Tour last year, is the first Asian to host his own tournament, following in the footsteps of golf legends Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods who also host their own golf tournaments.
While he has been enduring indifferent form of late, Choi is confident that he will return to his winning ways soon.
“It's been an interesting year to say the least. Although my performance was below my expectations, I took a lot out of it. I put all my heart into every tournament and sometimes you don’t get what you want but I always try to find positives amongst the negatives. What I got out from this past year was that I can prepare better for next season. I know what I need to work on,” said Choi, who had two top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season.
The tournament will welcome the involvement of the KJ Choi Foundation and CJ Donors Camp again as Choi is a keen supporter of worthy charity programmes both in Korea and around the world.
“Once again KJ Choi Foundation and CJ Donors Camp will join hands together to give back to the community by setting up study rooms at Yeoju. This year EMC (Environmental Management Corporation) has been grateful enough to participate as a donor and expanding the benefits to the community. This event is the highlight event of Yeoju city and one which the community can take part actively,” said Choi.
CJ Group, Korea’s food-to-entertainment conglomerate, has a three-year agreement to title sponsor the tournament which will be beamed live on the Asian Tour’s global television platform which reaches over 200 countries and 850 million homes. It will also be broadcast on KBS and J-Golf channel.
The tournament will feature 55 players each from the Asian Tour and Korean Golf Tour plus 10 sponsor’s invitations, making it a 120-man field.
By Indian Sports News Network