Choi targets majors after Sony win

By Brian Keogh

Sony Open winner KJ Choi slipped past Padraig Harrington in the world rankings and immediatley set his sights on major glory.

The Korean - nicknamed 'Tank' for his powerful physique - held off South Africa's Rory Sabbatini to complete a wire-to-wire win in Hawaii.

Choi moved up two spots to a career high seventh in the world with Harrington down one spot to ninth and Sabbitini back at 10th

Now Choi, 37, wants to go on and become the first Korean man to win a major with the Masters top of his hit list.

Choi said: "All the major championships are difficult to win and I would love to win any one of them.

"For some reason, maybe it's because I came close to winning the Masters, my heart is really with the Masters. I have tremendous respect for that golf course and the tournament.

"I've been playing in the Masters the past few years and, for some reason, I don't know why, but it just makes me feel very comfortable being there at the Masters."

The son of a rice farmer, Choi sealed victory for the fourth consecutive season on the PGA Tour.

Only Tiger Woods (12 seasons) and Vijay Singh (six) have better winning streaks on the US circuit while Phil Mickelson has also won in each of the last four years.

Latest World Rankings
1 Tiger Woods; 2 Phil Mickelson; 3 Steve Stricker; 4 Jim Furyk; 5 Ernie Els; 6 Justin Rose; 7 KJ Choi; 8 Adam Scott; 9 Padraig Harrington; 10 Rory Sabbatini.

Other Irish: 108 Graeme McDowell; 204 Darren Clarke; 209 Paul McGinley; 230 Rory McIlroy; 275 Peter Lawrie; 326 Damien McGrane.