News: The U.S. OPEN June 13 2011 6:55 pm PLAYERS win has Choi confident BETHESDA, Md. ?While many had long considered him the prime Asian hope, K.J. Choi didn't really think he was capable of winning a major until about four years ago. Granted, his Korean countryman Y.E. Yang beat Choi to the punch when he came from behind to beat Tiger Woods at the 2009 PGA Championship. But Choi should be confident this week at Congressional Country Club after a win at THE PLAYERS Championship last month and a tie for eighth at the Masters. Not to mention, Choi won the 2007 AT&T National at Congressional. Even so, he's been here all weekend, playing nine holes each day to familiarize himself with the USGA set-up. "The course definitely plays different than when I won in 2007," Choi said. "?You have to attack it differently. This week the tee boxes are, they're pulled it back 20, 30 yards on some of the holes, so you actually have to draw your shots back, where in 2007 I could fade my shots, so it's a little bit different strategy. "But having played both course setups on this course, it gives me less pressure because I know where to hit it. And another key thing is when you're standing on the tee box, visually there's some obstacles that kind of gets in your eyes. As long as you know how to get away from that, I think you'll be good." Choi said he has been hitting mostly 6- and 7-irons on his approach shots. The big hitters, Choi said, will definitely have the advantage whereas he's working on hitting high cut shots with his longer irons. In the past he's used hybrids to hit the ball high and stop it on the greens, but he's only carrying one, a 3-hybrid, this week. "This course you can't miss your tee shots," Choi said. "It's critical that you put it on the fairway. If you miss a tee shot, you're going to have a hard time trying to get it on the green. That's where the short game comes in. I've been concentrating on my putting and my short game to compensate. "The U.S. Open is known for its hard greens, so it's going to be hard to spin the ball on the green. So the key thing is to try to go from tee to fairway, fairway to green, and I'll just try my best." Choi, who makes his home in a Houston suburb, said winning the U.S. Open would be "very meaningful. "I think if I were able to win it, of course it's God's choice, but I think it would be a great chance to glorify the Lord. And I think a lot of people that have supported me, my friends, a lot of people would be happy. It would be a good gift for the people around me."