OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP RELATED STORIES Rd 1: Battling Lam makes top 15 with fine 72 Rd 1: Choi crafts brave 72 in worst of weather Rd 1: Liang faces uphill task after opening 77 Rd 1: 17th hole birdie keeps Chia's chances alive Rd 1: Prayad struggles with wind and cold for 77 Rd 2: Choi takes lead with two closing birdies Rd 2: Liang makes first major cut with fighting 71 Rd 2: Lam makes cut and Singapore golf history Rd 2: Late bogies mean early exit for Prayad Rd 3: Choi joint 2nd as Norman storms 2 ahead Rd 3: Liang fires worthy 77 as scores soar Rd 3: Lam is blown away by Birkdale winds Rd 4: Choi heartbroken as Harrington defends Rd 4: Closing 74 gives Liang more major hopes Rd 4: Tough Open makes Lam eye Asian success Rd 4: Angelo Que means to learn and return Final scores The 2008 Open Championship home page Guide to the Royal Birkdale Course Four Australians qualify for The Open 67 Sentosa hopefuls aim for four Open berths Randhawa going for fourth Open outing Chia, Que and Ali lead Open berth battle Chia, Blyth, Lam and Que headed for Birkdale Dyson qualifies for Open - Rodgers, Brown and Jeev miss out Liang to make golfing history at Birkdale Prayad out to erase Masters misery at Birkdale Que looks to ride his winning wave Lam takes a second shot at Open Liang back in the swing and ready to shine Confident Prayad ready to face Birkdale breezes Lam aiming at top 25 - and having fun Chia out for Malaysian first at his second Open Que hoping to become a familiar face ASIAN GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Bae clinches home win Tanihara takes Panasonic title Su Dong's lead cut to two Hole-in-One Jeev shares the lead Korea, Philippines, Italy for World Cup Lu wins record 4th Taiwan Masters Aussie PGA rethinks 'One Asia' GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Fred Couples to enlist some unusual help Paula Creamer seeking another home town win Jay Haas on brink of another senior money title Justin Leonard looking to break Texas Open record Father & Son event sign up with Sky Sports

Choi lying joint second as Norman storms two ahead

Korea’s K.J. Choi vowed to fight on after falling two shots behind third round leader Greg Norman at a windswept British Open on Saturday.

The Asian Tour graduate, who held the overnight lead, carded a five-over-par 75 to fall into a share of second place with title holder Padraig Harrington at Royal Birkdale which saw winds blow up to 50mph.

Choi is bidding to become the first Asian male to win a major title and believes he can deny crowd favourites, the 53-year-old Norman and Harrington in his history-making bid.

“I will have to try to catch up. I enjoy the golf course, and I’m comfortable on this course. Today was tougher than the third round at Carnoustie in 1999 when the winds were 35mph then but today was more than that.

“I couldn’t control my tee shot or putting. The key was the putting. I was scared when I took a backswing as the wind was moving the ball. I’m still in a good position. Five over par today is still okay,” said Choi.

Choi, nicknamed the “Tank”, will play in the second last pairing in Sunday’s final round and said that a two-shot deficit wasn’t much at Royal Birkdale.

“If it is windy tomorrow, it will be tough for everyone. I had a hard time with my putting. Tomorrow, it’ll be important for me to putt well. I missed about three or four putts from inside four feet. I try to hit it harder but it was always short. The wind was blowing which made it tough,” said the Korean.

He saluted playing partner and Presidents Cup International team captain Norman who seized the lead with a 72. “Greg has had a good career and played great. He had good imagination and good control today,” said Choi.

Choi, who learned the professional trade on the Asian Tour during the 1990s, battled gallantly as winds buffeted Royal Birkdale but could do very little as he dropped during a tough third round.

The world number 11 double bogeyed the sixth after finding the fairway bunker and then dropped another stroke at the eighth by missing a five-foot par save. He suffered another double bogey on 10 but stopped the bleeding by holing crucial par putts from six and four feet at the next two holes before rolling in his only birdie of the day with a monster 30-foot putt at the 13th hole.

A disappointing three-putt bogey on the par five 15th eventually left Choi two shots back of Norman. “I still have a chance, I’m sure of that. After a good rest tonight, I’m going to give it my all tomorrow,” he said.

Norman was impressed with Choi, saying the Korean could have been several shots better in his round. "KJ Choi, very impressed with im today, his demeanor, his atitude, his ball sriking," said the Aussie who is known as the "Great White Shark".

"He's always going tobe a force to be reckoned with tomorrow and going forward. I'm very impressed with his golf. He could have been a couple, three shots better but I'm sure everybody could have said the same thing."

It would complete a remarkable journey for Choi, and Asian golf, if he can pull off an historic triumph. As a student, he was a powerlifter before learning the game on the island of Wando in Korea, reading Jack Nicklaus’ instructional book “My Way”.

Choi cut his professional teeth on the Asian Tour where he won the 1999 Korean Open and went on to make a name for himself on the US PGA Tour, winning seven times, which prompted many to tag him as the Asian most likely to win a major.

It would be poignant if he makes history on Sunday as Royal Birkdale was the site of “Mr” Lu Liang-huan’s narrow brush with glory when the Chinese Taipei player finished runner-up to Lee Trevino in the 1971 Open. Choi also made his Open debut 10 years ago at Royal Birkdale.

July 19, 2008