Choi ties Aronimink record, tops AT&T leader board

It's nice to be able to play golf with the mind-set of K.J. Choi - grind it out hole-by-hole, then add it up at the end.

Choi was so focused on that method Friday that when he signed his scorecard at the end of the second round of the AT&T National, it added up to 64 - tying the Aronimink Golf Club course record - and gave him a 2-stroke lead at the midway point of the $6.2 million tournament.

Choi, who won this event at Congressional Country Club in 2007, closed on an incredible roll with five birdies on his final six holes, four of them in succession, to equal the 64 that Justin Rose carded in the second round of the 2010 AT&T National.

"As I kept making birdies, I noticed that the reactions of the gallery were very positive," said Choi, who posted a 36-hole total of 133, 7-under par on the 7,237-yard Newtown Square layout. "I started feeling that I was working toward a special round.

"Even if I had known what the course record was, I'm not really a records type of guy. I don't really pay attention to any records. My style is just playing hole-by-hole, trying my best each hole, every shot. So when I heard that I tied the course record, I felt very happy, very pleased about that."

Choi, 41, who grew up in South Korea and lives in Dallas, will have plenty of players chasing him Saturday over an Aronimink course that played about a stroke easier in the second round than it did on opening day. Three of the top eight chasing him finished in the top 11 of last year's AT&T National.

Charlie Wi, who took fourth in 2010, shot a 66 to join former British Open champion Justin Leonard (67), Bo Van Pelt (66), and Chris Riley (66) at 135. Van Pelt, whose father, Bob, was an Eagles draft pick in 1967, wound up in an 11th-place tie his last time here.

A quartet at 136 featured Jeff Overton, who captured third last year and shot a 65 Friday. Bryce Molder (67), Charles Howell III (68), and Kyle Stanley (69) also were at 4 under.

Making his 300th career PGA Tour start this week, Choi already has enjoyed a career year. He won The Players Championship in May and has four other top-10 finishes, including a tie for eighth in the Masters after being in the hunt on Sunday's back nine.

Choi settled in Friday after a bogey at 11 – his second hole of the round - and kept the scoreboard folks busy with birdie after birdie.

Starting at No. 4, his birdie putts came from 13, 14, 6, and 11 feet. After a par at the difficult eighth, he closed with a tap-in for a 4 at the par-5 ninth to earn a spot in Saturday's final pairing with Riley.

"I've been able to hit the ball off the tee well and put it in the fairway," Choi said. "My irons have been very good this week. I've had good control with the irons. The greens are very difficult, but I think I was able to place the ball on the greens where I needed to with my irons."

Choi played in the morning half of the draw. Wi, 39, who also was born in South Korea, put the most heat on him in the afternoon, getting to 6 under for the tournament after five birdies on his first 12 holes. But he had two bogeys and a birdie the rest of the way to end the day 2 shots back.

Wi, who acknowledged that he wanted to play with Choi in Saturday's final pairing because the two are good friends, said he doesn't know why he plays well at Aronimink.

"I've done really well on tough golf courses out on the tour," he said. "I think that I stay really patient, and maybe it's that my focus is a little bit tighter when the golf course gets harder."

This could be a big weekend for Leonard, 39, who has one top-10 finish on the tour since the start of 2010. He admitted "it's been a while" since he teed off late on a tournament Saturday.

"Being able to make a few putts, it takes the pressure off everything else," said Leonard, who needed 28 putts in a round of five birdies and two bogeys. "I don't feel like I have to hit every green. It creates an ease out there on the golf course that I haven't played with in a while, and it's been very nice."