South Korea’s K.J Choi has emphatically announced his return to top level form with a stellar performance in the final round of the 2010 Augusta Masters to finish T4.

Choi was tied for the lead heading into the business end of Sunday’s final round, however consecutive bogeys at the 13th and 14th holes put paid to his chances. Still, Choi has plenty to be proud of, having demonstrated that he is once again playing the kind of golf that saw him become a world top 10 ranked player earlier in his career. He has recently played his way out of a slump and his results have been very impressive already this year, having finished 2nd at the Transitions Championship and making the cut in every event he has entered.

Choi had the unique distinction of playing all 4 days at Augusta National with Tiger Woods, and contrary to many people’s expectations prior to the tournament that his game would suffer due to the distraction, Choi reveled in the spotlight and matched the world number 1 blow for blow. He might have come up a little short in his title challenge (eventually finishing 5 shots behind champion Phil Mickelson) however Choi will surely take many positives out of this week:

“I’m satisfied and it was gratifying for me this year and the fans were very supportive and just playing with Tiger for the last four days was a very good experience for me,” said Choi, who has previously won Tiger Woods’ event, the AT&T National.

The strongman from South Korea was trying to emulate the feat of his countryman Y.E Yang, who beat Woods at the PGA Championship last year to become the first Asian to win one of golf’s majors. Yang also finished inside the top 10 this year at Augusta, perhaps another sign of the growing influence of Asian golfers in the men’s game. Choi spoke about the increased belief amongst Korean and Asian players that they belong on the world stage:

“In the past … the mindset of the Asian players was that when it comes to the Masters, there was a fear factor there, that we can’t do it. Now I hope that this gives motivation for the younger players, other players, that they can do it at big tournaments like the Masters.”

His coach Steve Bann had been very pleased with the way K.J prepared for this year’s event, having spent a lot of time working on his short game and lag putting and trying to stay fresh by not playing too many practice rounds. “K.J has done a great job of balancing his practice routine to make sure his short game is sharp while his ball striking is the best I’ve seen it for quite some time” he said earlier in the week.

Choi’s game was certainly sharp for the best part of the tournament, and if he keeps playing this way it can’t be too long before he breaks through for his first major win.

Thanks to Pure Golf Blog for this article.

Thursday 9th April| They were being called the two unluckiest players in the draw at Augusta this year. K.J Choi and Matt Kuchar, Tiger Woods’ playing partners for the first two rounds of his comeback extravaganza, also known as the 2010 Augusta Masters, would surely crumble under the pressure of the intense media scrutiny and huge crowds following his return to golf.

As it turned out, the rest of the field must be wishing they could have attracted some of the good vibes of that group. Collectively, Choi, Woods and Kuchar shot 11 under par around Augusta National in Thursday’s 1st Round, making them the most successful group of the day’s draw.

K.J Choi’s caddy Andy Prodger had spoken about his lack of nerves about being in Tiger’s group prior to Thursday’s round. He had seen it all before. No biggie.

His boss showed a similar calmness as he expertly managed his game around a decidedly accessible Augusta National to turn in a round of 5 under par 67 to sit 1 shot off Fred Couples’ lead, 1 better than Woods.

Choi made the turn at 1 under after mixing birdies at the 2nd and 4th holes with a dropped shot at number 6. He was still 1 under through 12 holes but then caught fire with 4 straight birdies from the 13th through the 16th. He finished it off with a couple of pars to tie fellow countryman Y.E Yang, veteran Tom Watson, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood at -5.

His playing partner Tiger Woods, who shot 68, was understandably impressed with Choi’s game:

“KJ played great..he made a lot of putts, drove the ball on a string today..when he did put himself in a spot he just knocked it up there and made a putt”.

Choi’s coach Steve Bann was also very pleased with the attitude his player brought to the course:

“K.J is always looking forward to testing himself and growing as a golfer. He has always played well when paired with Tiger so he was very excited about this opportunity. He saw this as a Sunday atmosphere feel on a Thursday.”

Bann pointed out that Choi has done a great job of preparing for this tournament, focusing on his short game and long putts and preserving his energy for the big show: “K.J is the most comfortable he has ever been with his game. This week he has played just 2 rounds of 9 and 1 round of 18 holes and balanced his practice really well”.

When he is on his game, Choi can compete with anyone, as he proved to Tiger by winning his event in 2007. Tiger has plenty of respect for the man:

“KJ as we all know can play, and he gets into his own little world and he focuses and he gets the job done”.

Choi has a long way to go before the job is done at Augusta but he is off to one heck of a start.

Thanks to Pure Golf Blog for this content.

Wednesday 7th April| About a month ago, K.J Choi wasn’t even sure he would get to play in this year’s Masters tournament at Augusta National G.C. He was ranked outside the world top 50, needing a good run of play to earn him an invitation to the year’s first major.

Come Thursday afternoon Choi will find himself in the best seat in the house to witness one of the most eagerly anticipated returns in not only golf, but all of sports. Tiger Woods makes his return to competitive golf at The Masters and has been paired with Choi and Matt Kuchar for the first two rounds of the event.

The grouping is bound to attract huge galleries and plenty of attention, however don’t expect Choi to wilt under the pressure. The South Korean strongman affectionately known as “the tank” has earned a reputation for being icy cool in the heat of battle and will be fancying his chances at Augusta based on his recent form. He earned himself a spot in the field thanks to stellar performances at the Transitions Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, and has had previous success at Augusta National, finishing T-3 in 2004.

Choi isn’t a stranger to Tiger either, having won the inaugural edition of  his event the AT&T National in 2007.

The group tees off at 1:42 p.m Augusta time on Thursday.

A big thanks to Pure Golf Blog for this article.

While this may be welcome news for golf fans who just want to see him back playing golf instead of on tabloid frontcovers, the Woods camp still hasn’t given any indication of when he will be coming back to playing golf from his “indefinite break”.

“He is still working on his marriage and they’re working hard at it,” said the source who according to Reuters declined to be identified. “He is (also) hitting some balls and working out.”

Tiger spent a week in Arizona attending counseling sessions with his wife Elin before returning home to Orlando to start practicing again. The 14 time Major winner has only missed two events so far this season that he regularly plays- those being the San Diego Open in Torrey Pines and the WGC CA Championships.

The Augusta Masters, which starts on April 8, was the tournament many believed would be the one where he would make his comeback, however after his recent public apology, all bets seem to be off on when he’ll show up on our tv screens again.

Nike has virtually built the golf section of its brand on the back of its sponsorship of Woods and the company has no intentions of rushing the World #1 back into competition until he is ready to be back inside the ropes. Nike brand president Charlie Denson emphasized this when he said: “Under the circumstances, the more he deals with the issues and the better he deals with them, the better off he’ll be when he does return”.

After losing Accenture and AT&T as sponsors while being downgraded by Gillette and Tag-Huer, Woods can at least count on his major sponsor supporting him through what has surely been the toughest period of his career to date.

“We’ve been supportive of Tiger since the story broke and we continue to be supportive,” Denson said. “He’s got issues he needs to deal with and he’s dealing with them. We are looking forward to him getting back on the golf course.”

Woods issued a public apology last week and has said that he is returning to rehab to solve issues with his personal life.

Monday, December 21| Australia’s Marc Leishman has received the perfect Christmas present: a Rookie of the Year award on the US PGA Tour as announced by Commissioner Tim Finchem on Friday.

For at least a day, the Warnambool boy shared the golf media headlines with embattled Tiger Woods, who was awarded his 10th Player of the Year award and his first since 2007. Leishman became the first Australian to receive this honor since it was first awarded in 1990.

“Congratulations to Tiger and Marc for their accomplishments in 2009,” said Commissioner Finchem. “Both players enjoyed outstanding seasons capped off by success in the Playoffs. The recognition by their peers is the one of the highest compliments a PGA TOUR member can receive.”

For 26 year old Leishman, competition for the award came from fellow rookies Jeff Klauk and Webb Simpson. However, having been the only rookie to qualify for the Tour Championship, which was the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, he was always going to be tough to beat.

Leishman had 3 top 10 finishes including the Valero Texas Open (T5), the HP Byron Nelson Championship (T8) and probably his most memorable one when he tied for second at the BMW Championships in the third leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

His coach Denis McDade from Bann Lynch Golf in Melbourne has worked with him since his amateur days, and was understandably thrilled with the way his season turned out: “Marc has adjusted so well to playing on the world’s biggest stage and is only going to get better. To be able to produce his best golf under that sort of pressure in your rookie season is really impressive and that kind of confidence is something you can’t teach. I’m really looking forward to seeing him develop into an even stronger player next season“.

Cameron Percy has had a memorable year by any standards. He finished 8th on the Nationwide Tour money list and won his card on the PGA Tour for next season. Percy has played solidly all year, but its a safe bet his latest round would have been one of the most memorable of his career.

After starting off the JB Were Australian Masters with a superb 5 under par 67 on Thursday, Percy immediately came into the media spotlight as one of the best Australian hopes for the week. Inevitably, with Tiger Woods’ presence creating an unprecedented amount of excitement in the tournament, questions began to be asked of Percy regarding a possible pairing with the great man over the weekend.

Questions that Percy couldn’t help but ask himself.

He admitted it was on his mind in his second round, when he shot a somewhat disappointing but respectable even par 72. Still, he was still in the hunt and needed a strong showing over the weekend to challenge for the title.

However, on the morning of the third round, Percy wasn’t feeling quite comfortable with his setup over the ball. This is where PGA Tour coaches really earn their money. Luckily for Percy, he had trusted coach Darren Cole on hand to have a look at his setup on the practice range and make a minor adjustment which immediately had him feeling a lot better about how he was striking the golf ball.

Percy shot 69 on Saturday and thanked “Coley” while being interviewed by Fox News later that day. He had something else to be happy about. As it turned out, he had his dream pairing with Tiger Woods for Sunday.

Percy couldn’t have had much sleep on Saturday night but he didn’t show too many nerves on what was probably one of the biggest days of his golfing career so far. The new PGA Tour member (he earned his card through the Nationwide Tour this year) kept it together beautifully to shoot an even par 72 to finish the tournament on -8 and earn a tied-6th position.

All of us at Golf.com.au would like to congratulate Cameron Percy and his coach Darren Cole on a wonderful and memorable week.

In this series of ‘Skyperviews’, Steve talks on a range of topics including Stuart Appleby and K.J Choi’s performances at The Masters, the golf course setup, what the players are working on this week and about Greg Norman, Geoff Ogilvy, Aaron Baddeley (who is back working with Steve’s coaching partner Dale Lynch) and of course, Tiger Woods.

Steve provides viewers with a unique insight into The Masters experience, through the eyes of a PGA Tour coach and his star players. Watching these videos, you get an idea of the kind of hard work that goes into preparing for a Major championship, but also the human side of the players and coaches in this highly competitive business.

In keeping with the New Media theme, Steve and Stuart Appleby have also joined the Social Network “Twitter” and will be providing regular updates through 140 character messages known as “tweets”.

You can check out Steve Bann’s Videos from Augusta at “TwitR Golfers”- The website for all golfers who are on Twitter.

Check out the videos at: http://www.twitrgolfers.com/video