Press Box Paul Arnett

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Choi honors his homeland with grit and determination

It's too bad the first 102 Korean immigrants to come to Hawaii -- who stood on the deck of the SS Gaelic some 105 years ago -- couldn't be here to watch K.J. Choi pocket nearly a million dollars on this meaningful anniversary.

Even though many in his closest circle of friends knew of this historic occasion prior to yesterday's final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii, they didn't bother to tell him. And he's glad they didn't.

"I heard it right after my round," Choi said. "A lot of people came up to me and told me that. They didn't want to give me the pressure and tell me beforehand."

One of the nice sidelights to Choi becoming only the second Asian to win this tournament since its inception in 1965 is the number of family and friends who came from Wando Island, off the Korean peninsula, to watch him play over the weekend.

He took a commanding lead after two rounds, putting himself in position to win his seventh event on the PGA Tour. The 37-year-old is such an accomplished golfer of late, many are wondering when that first major championship is going to land in his locker.

No golfer from Asia has ever won a major, a goal Choi definitely has, but doesn't dwell on much. He believes the Masters may offer him the best chance of achieving that goal, but on this quiet afternoon, he preferred to talk about the victory at hand. For Choi, this was a special win in a place that reminds him of home.

These days, he lives at The Woodlands, located in East Texas, just north of Houston. But it's nothing like the fishing village of Wando, where the men and women work hard to earn their pay. He can only imagine what the 56 men, 21 women and 25 children must have thought when they saw Oahu for the first time.

"There's a lot of similarities," Choi said of Hawaii. "There's mountains in the middle of the island. Just the whole atmosphere here makes me feel real comfortable. I feel real at peace here, and of course, all the fan support, it feels like I'm right at home. The Hawaiian people are so nice to me."

THEY WERE CERTAINLY curious of the largest group of immigrants ever to leave Korea for a western destination on Jan. 13, 1903. It was front-page news in the Hawaiian Star newspaper that day. Not unlike the kind of interest Choi managed before leaving for the mainland last night.

His fondness for his homeland is etched on his face. Having his mother and father there to see him win yesterday only added to his excitement. Choi said his work ethic comes from the people of the Cholla province where Wando is a part.

"People down there, their jobs, they work very hard," Choi said. "It's their lifestyle. There's a lot of manual labor jobs where you have to actually physically use your body.

"In the old days, there were a lot of farmers out there before the machines came in. I think that's what makes people down there very tough. And I think I learned a lot from that, just coming from that part of Korea."

You won't get any argument from his fellow golfers about Choi's doggedness. He was honored to learn of the immigrants who came ashore all those years ago. And they would have been equally honored to know him had they been here to witness his win.