Press Box Paul Arnett

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Sony trophy in hand, Choi shifts into gear in pursuit of great ’08

When K.J. Choi gives you that stare, you swear you catch a glimpse of the red eyes -- Terminator style -- before his eyes fade to black. This is not a friendly stare, mind you. It's intimidating. Kind of scary in a serial sort of way. It makes you shrink back against the wall, hoping he was looking at somebody else.

Then he smiles at you, shakes your hand and speaks nearly perfect English in a casual, cordial manner. You think to yourself: This guy would be perfect in the new series "Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles." He could play a Terminator, no problem. Mention the word bogey and the director yells, "Action."

That's probably an exaggeration, don't you think? Call it the June Jones effect. Hyperbole driven.

But let's face it, when this guy's between the ropes he can make flags bend at will.

OK, all right. There you go again. Blowing things out of proportion. He can't really bend flag poles with his mind.

Maybe he's one of those shape shifters. Like those aliens on the X-Files, who could become anyone they pleased. Great getaway disguise, you know? Wouldn't have to sign any autographs.

Come on, man, I don't think that's what he's talking about when he describes shaping shots. That's not exactly the same thing as turning into playing partner Tim Wilkinson from New Zealand.

Yeah, he could go into the scorer's tent as himself and come out as Wilkinson, walk right off the grounds without anybody knowing. That would be way cool.

But why would he do that? He just won his seventh PGA tournament. He didn't blow it by shooting a 75 in the final round and letting everyone back in it. He went out there and pretended to be Tiger Woods.

You're right. Woods is the best front-runner in the business. When he leads after the third round, he's won 110 percent of the time. This guy never loses after 54 holes. He's invincible.

All right, that's enough, get back on the couch and settle down. You can't win 110 percent of the time, but you can be a perfect 100 percent. And that's exactly what Choi is, 5-for-5 when leading after 54 holes.

If he were playing in the Super Bowl, he'd have more rings than Tom Brady. He'd have one for the thumb. Do you think Choi would be a good strong safety, one of those guys who can strike fear in the heart of a tight end and help double-team Randy Moss down the middle? Oh my, what a hit by Choi. A Dick Enberg moment. That's what Choi would be in the NFL.

Hey, he's not in the NFL, stupid. He's on the PGA Tour. He and Woods and Phil Mickelson and Steve Flesch and Vijay Singh and Zach Johnson. They were the only ones to have multiple wins in 2007. First Choi goes to the Memorial and shakes hands with Jack Nicklaus. Then later that summer, he wins the AT&T International and this time it's Mr. Woods himself telling him what a fine golfer he is.

IMAGINE COMING ALL the way from South Korea and being forced to live in The Woodlands, Texas. That's close to Tomball -- named appropriately enough after a guy they called Tom Ball -- and that's right down the road from Conroe and on the way to Houston. You live in those piney woods by yourself long enough and you think of Wando -- early and often.

Hey man, you don't know that. All you know is your parents live near there. You've driven through it a couple of times and said, "Man, it's flat here." But maybe he likes it. God knows he's doing something right. This guy has a gallery following his every move. They're proud of him, happy for him. They lifted him up when he was down.

Yeah, he could be around for a long time, flashing those red eyes as they reflect off the trophy, right there in the corner of your eye, making you look. But as you return that stare. It's too late. They've already faded to black.

All right, that's enough, give me the remote.