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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland -- K.J. Choi walked off the 18th at Congressional County Club two weeks ago after winning his second PGA Tour tournament this year and declared he wanted to become the first Asian to win a major.
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It might not be too far away.
The South Korean shot a 2-under 69 at Carnoustie to give him the early first-round lead in the British Open on Thursday. It would have been even better if he hadn't bogeyed two of the last four holes.
Although he was to lose that clubhouse lead, Choi could make it three victories in his past four tournaments by taking the oldest major of all.
"Back on the 18th at the AT&T National, I didn't want to get ahead of myself," Choi said. "If I think of myself having a chance then I know things could go wrong.
"So, I just want to take it one by one -- hole by hole -- just give it my best and try to overcome any difficulties and, if I just stick to my routine, then at the end of the week who knows, there might be good news for me."
Choi was 4 under after six holes in the rain at Carnoustie, showing the form that won him the Nicklaus' Memorial tournament in June and the inaugural AT&T National, hosted by Tiger Woods, 11 days ago.
He birdied three of the first four holes and added another at the par-5 sixth. His first mistake came at the seventh when he missed a 3-foot, sharp-breaking putt and dropped a shot.
"I had a very good start up the sixth hole at 4 under par," he said. "After that, it got a little hard and windy on the back nine. It's still a good feeling. There was one bad shot at 15 -- a tee shot in the right-hand bunker and a bogey -- and then bogey at 18."
Choi also began the 2004 Open at Royal Troon with rounds of 68 and 69 to reach halfway at 5 under before falling away to finish equal 16th. The powerfully built Korean has improved his drive and believes that links golf is ideal for his game.
"This type of golf suits my game because you need to have a lot of fade shots," he said. "I haven't hit one draw today. This course requires for the player to hit low fades and high fades, that's what I've done and it really suits my game."
