Yao Ming and Ichiro know: Mocking K.J. Choi's English at FedEx Cup shameful and inaccurate

HARRISON, N.Y. (Aug. 27, 2007) No one enjoys a good tweak of the largely pampered millionaires in pro golf more than myself. But taking shots at PGA Tour player K.J. Choi’s English as some did - including WorldGolf.com’s own PGA Punter who’s blog and stat insights I usually enjoy - are out of line and near disgraceful.

Choi came to the U.S. late in his life, learned the language while trying to make a living in pro golf and make sure his family adjusted to a new country. Unlike many foreign athletes who know English perfectly and still hide behind an interpreter because it’s easier to dodge media questions that way - see Ichiro and for years Yao Ming - Choi will do interviews in English. Which gives the fans much more truthful answers and a much better feel for the real guy behind the golfer.

And Choi speaks fine English. He’s engaging and insightful - see his story on using that $49 infomercial putter grip in Tour competition. He’s actually one of the better interviews on Tour. He even tells a good joke.

To pretend that you know what went on at an event by looking at a few quote sheets - as the PGA Punter did in his first Choi English blast - is laughable. All those ASAP interview transcripts - and calling it a transcript is often using the word very loosely - are not created equal. The one The Punter referenced in his blog from the third round came off a TV interview that a PGA Tour PR person took notes on and had those typed on a quote sheet. It wasn’t one of the ones with one of those court stenographer types pecking on the funny keyboard in the interview room.

It was also a bad TV interview.

Choi gave plenty of time to writers who wanted to talk to him 1-on-1 or in small groups afterwards and made as much sense as Phil Mickelson often does. Like usual.

On Sunday, the day after the Punter’s blog, Choi went back to using an interpreter in the main interview room. And that’s a sad turn. Everyone wants athletes to be open and truthful, to give more than the usual canned answers. And then they rip on a guy who’s trying to do that in a late-learned second language?

Choi is one of the more interesting personalities on the Tour - a guy capable of dropping in a 50-foot putt in the final round of an event with a near majors field. Let’s let him talk.

We don’t need another Shaq or Rosie O’Donnell making bad jokes about foreign speakers.