Choi donates to Johor charities

08 March 2010 , By The Star

KOREAN golf superstar K.J. Choi looks tough with his stocky frame and as a teenager used to be called the ‘Tank’ because he could lift 159kg in weights despite weighing a scrawny 43kg.

Despite his tough-guy looks, Choi showed his compassion in his philanthropic endeavours.

Deeply religious, he is known for various charitable work in South Korea as well as the United States where he plies his professional trade on the PGA Tour.

The seven-time winner on the PGA Tour made good on his pledge to donate his winnings from his Iskandar Johor Open last October when he took time off from his tournament routine at the ongoing Maybank Malaysian Open to hand over the money at a ceremony at at Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam yesterday.

“Bringing greater good to the community is the core vision of the KJ Choi Foundation – to link and inform people and then provide them with the opportunity to help the poor.”

Choi donated a total of US$87,000 (RM293,500), which was his prize money after deducting caddie fees and taxes.

Six Johor-based charities – Handicap Association of Johor Baru, Sari Saujana Handicapped Children Home, the Boys Brigade in Malaysia (the 1st Johor Baru Company), Johor Area Rehabilitation Organisation (JARO), Princess Elizabeth School (for the Blind and Visually Handicapped) and Badan Amal Tenaga Isteri Wakil-Wakil Rakyat Negeri Johor (JUITA) – each received US$14,500.

Last year Choi, who made his name on the Asian Tour, marked his return to the continent by claiming a four-stroke victory in the rain-disrupted Iskandar Johor Open.