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Ho-Sung Choi has become an internet sensation after footage of his “fisherman’s swing” went viral.
In case you haven’t yet seen it, here’s a clip of the 45-year-old South Korean in action.
We all know someone with a swing like Ho-sung Choi.
— AllAboutGolf (@golf4themasses) January 17, 2019
They're rarely as dialled in as him though 😅#golfswing pic.twitter.com/Dut5njtwfC
Perhaps unsurprisingly, fans have been quick to pick up on Choi’s
idiosyncracies, resulting in him being given an invitation to play in
the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in a fortnight’s time.
All fun and games, right? Rory McIlroy doesn’t think so.
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Asked ahead of this week’s Farmers Insurance Open for his take on
Choi’s new-found fame and opportunities, the former world No.1 had a
hard time choosing his words.
Bottom line? He’s not a massive fan.
“I mean, technically his swing is good,” said McIlroy. “If you watch it up until impact, he’s technically got a pretty good swing. He’s obviously a pretty good player.
Rory does not seem to be the world’s biggest Hosung Choi fan! pic.twitter.com/CTRSKOWOvW
— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) January 23, 2019
“Whether that means he should be taking a spot away from a PGA Tour player at a PGA Tour event, I’m not so sure.”
He added: “I’m not sure a golf shot should mean that much to you that you’re doing that after you hit it, like it’s just trying a little too hard. You have to try hard at golf, but that’s taking it to an extreme.”
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In fairness to Choi, there’s a lot more to his game than a peculiar follow-through. He is a two-time winner on the Korean Tour and the highly-competitive Japan Golf Tour, most recently at the Casio World Open in November. He’s also the world No.194. Clearly, he’s no hacker.
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However, you can’t help but feel that his invite to Pebble Beach is tantamount to making him the butt of a rather sad joke. Is he there on competitive merit or to give the galleries somebody to point and stare at?
Either way, with $7.6m in the prize fund, and over $1m going to the winner, it could be a life-changing week for the South Korean, who could well end up having the last laugh.
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