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Is this the most underrated golfer in the world?

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Paul Krishnamurty considers the claims of Korea's KJ Choi for the mantle...

As Tiger Woods has no serious rivals for the title of World No.1, and Phil Mickelson is quite firmly established as No.2, one of the most interesting battles of 2008 will be to see who can emerge from an increasingly crowded pack as the 'best of the rest'. Two weeks into the season and a first serious contender for this accolade has staked an early claim, though its a name that few have ever mentioned in the same terms as the elite.

I'm fully aware that talking up KJ Choi now leaves me open to the charge of aftertiming. For the record, I didn't back him for the Sony Open after he'd let me down the previous week at Kapalua though naturally watching him land odds of around [28.0] did lead to much gnashing of teeth. I am however already on KJ to win the PGA Tour Money List (without Tiger of course) at similar odds, and confident I'm holding a big value position.

The Money List has been dominated by three players in recent years - Mickelson, Singh and Furyk - but I do think there's an opportunity to overtake the last two as they're not getting any better. Alternatively, having finished a career-best fifth on the List last year and staying in Fedex Cup contention right through until the final play-off event, Choi seems a player on the up, a serious contender week in, week out.

Sunday's success at Waialae was the Korean's third win in the last 12 months, and his seventh in total on the PGA Tour. That is no mean feat by any standards, and more than any current leading European. In fact, apart from Americans, only five from the current crop of international players have more. Multiple Major winners Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen obviously have more tournament victories, even if there are doubts about how many more will come, while Stuart Appleby and Mike Weir both have 8, one more than Choi. And if any of those were paired with Choi in a tournament match bet tomorrow, I'd give him at least an even chance.

The world rankings now reflect this reality, with Choi up to seventh and only behind Els and Justin Rose in the international list. I still get the strong impression though that, in most pundits and punters eyes, he's only an afterthought when considering the big events. In my view, a couple of factors lie behind Choi being consistently under-rated. Firstly, because he doesn't speak English well he rarely gets any media coverage. Consequently, he's a player who is only ever at the back of punters' minds - except the minority of golf afficionados.

Secondly, as the only Korean ever to make an impact he lacks national supporters. I remember Vijay Singh being similarly under-estimated for years until he won a Major - in fact it he was still probably under-valued for several years after his 1998 USPGA success. And one only has to look at Colin Montgomerie's consistently cramped odds in Majors over the years to recognise that patriotism is a huge factor in determining the market.

The only way he's going to change this is to take the next obvious step forward and win a big one. He certainly has the game for it. Choi's greatest strength is his high-quality long irons - an essential attribute at any Major venue. Likewise the best golf courses demand a sure scrambling touch around the greens, and Choi was simply phenomenal in this department over the weekend. Without holing numerous tricky par saving putts, he may not have won in Hawaii.

In particular those skills suggest success at Augusta is a very real possibility, so its no surprise that his best effort in a Major to date came when third in the 2004 US Masters. Even after Sunday, he's still available around [40.0] for the season's first Major, odds that seem rather insulting considering perennial loser and Timeform squiggle merchant Sergio Garcia has already been matched around the same price.