Choi chuffed at his masterful performance

TIGER WOODS will always be remembered for shooting nines of 40 and 30 in an opening round of 70 on his way to winning the 1997 Masters by a record margin.

Yesterday, 33-year-old Korean KJ Choi, who now resides in Woodlands, Texas, decided to do it the other way around and while there's nothing ever wrong with a 70 at Augusta National, there was still a sense of keen disappointment that he hadn't been able to maintain the remarkable momentum he built up over the outward journey.

Choi birdied the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th and 9th to get to seven under overall, but then discovered this course can jump up and bite when you least expect it. He went on to bogey each of the next three holes and dropped another stroke at the 16th to finish four under for the tournament, a position with which he appears to be perfectly happy.

"As I set out, I thought even par would be a good score but I kept making birdies," he said, speaking with the aid of an interpreter. "It was a great honour for me to be playing so well. I just felt comfortable out there. This is the first time I ever shot 30 for nine holes and I feel very lucky that it came here at the Masters. Augusta is very friendly to me. The four bogeys on the back nine I take as a study for tomorrow. I'm looking at it very positively. It was a very good experience for me, especially Amen Corner. The way I played the back nine is going to help me through the weekend."

Choi completed the homeward journey in 33 on Thursday, so his potential for shooting low numbers is manifestly evident. He insists he is a consistent rather than streaky golfer in spite of what those stats would indicate and mused: "I think when players start badly, they tend to focus more on the back nine. When you start well, the difference is in maintaining your swing rhythm."

It helped that his caddy is the veteran Englishman Andy Prodger who has worked with Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie and several others with a lot of success. "He was very accurate with the yardages," beamed the Korean. "Also, my wife is here and she told me that she was praying for me."

Choi finished 42nd in his only Masters appearance last year and enjoyed his best season in 2002 when he captured the New Orleans Open and the Tampa Bay Classic. His background is quite astonishing in that the island of Wando just off the Korean coast where he was born, didn't have a single golf course when he was growing up. The son of a rice farmer, he never saw a club until he was 16 when he took up the game at a driving range on the advice of his athletics coach. He was into weight lifting at the time but at 5 ft 8 ins and inspired by the sight of the similarly built Ian Woosnam winning the Masters in 1991, gave it up in favour of golf. He turned pro in '94.

Paul Casey is the kind of young player Europe looks to in September's Ryder Cup for a source of inspiration and yesterday he certainly demonstrated that he is coming of age as a professional of the highest quality. Playing in his first Masters, the 26-year-old from Cheltenham jumped into contention with a splendid 69 for level par which would have felt even better had he not bogeyed the 18th. Nevertheless, Casey atoned in style for Thursday's disappointing 75 and now finds himself in the thick of the battle.

"It was annoying to three putt the 18th and fall back to even but you just have to hit it in the right place," he accepted. "There are some tasty pin positions out there but the greens are rolling great. It is also nice to shoot a round in the 60s. That was my target today and now I'm looking forward to the week-end. At four over par, I felt my focus was just to put the ball in the right places and fortunately I made three birdies around Amen Corner and I should be able to further my Augusta education over the weekend.

"People suggested that the course should suit my game and when I came here two weeks ago, I felt that too. Everything in my game suits this place and while it was tempting to fire at the flags, I'm glad I resisted. It is nice to see Justin (Rose) play well. It's somebody to chase! There are a lot of other Europeans up there and a European win is a definite possibility."

Alex Cejka had to swim a river to escape the communist regime in Czechsolovakia when he was a mere nine-year-old so the little matter of tackling Augusta National in Masters should hold few fears for the 33 year-old who now plies his trade in the US. After two admirably consistent rounds of 70 in the company of Jack Nicklaus, he is beautifully positioned on four under par and proud to have the plaudits of the record six time champion ringing in his ears.

"Alex played and putted unbelievably well for the two days," said the Golden Bear, who, however, was disappointed at shooting a second successive 75 for a total of 150, six over par, which meant he won't be around for the weekend.