As a student at N.C. State, you’ve likely heard of Mike Glennon, C.J. Leslie, Trea Turner and other athletes who have recently made their mark on the Wolfpack athletic program. Go back a few years and you’ll encounter names such as Julius Hodge and Philip Rivers.
But until now, you may not have heard of Albin Choi.
Choi, a junior studying sport management, is making a name for himself as one of the best golfers to ever set foot in Raleigh. The Toronto, Ontario, native has won eight tournaments since he started his career at State, including four this season, and he is currently ranked eighth in the nation among amateur golfers. This year alone, he has failed to finish in the top six in just one of his 10 events.
He was named the 2013 ACC Golfer of the Year and named one of 10 semifinalists for the prestigious Ben Hogan Award, which honors the nation’s top collegiate golfer.
Choi’s honors have not been limited to his collegiate career. In 2012, he finished with the top amateur score at the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open, advanced to the final 16 at the U.S. Amateur Championships and was named the top amateur golfer in his native Canada.
Choi first picked up a golf club at age 4 and, like many young golfers who grew up in this era, idolized Tiger Woods as a youngster. He said he tries to watch professional tournaments “whenever I can” in between his own tournaments and practice rounds at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
So how did he end up at N.C. State? Choi said it wasn’t a very hard decision.
“I didn’t really get recruited by a lot of schools,” Choi said. “But I really liked the area, nice weather. I just really loved the atmosphere here, and I really wanted to go to a big school.”
One of the perks of being on the golf team is traveling around the country and playing various courses with all their quirks. Choi’s favorite course is Old North State Club in London, N.C., where the ACC Championships were held the weekend of April 26.
Choi’s career with the Wolfpack began in 2010, and in his first semester of competition he won two titles within a week of each other, first at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate and then at the Rod Myers Invitational. He ended up being voted ACC Freshman of the Year for that season. The next year, he won two more events and earned All-ACC honors for a second consecutive season.
From the looks of things, that streak will likely be extended to three years.
When his time at State is over, Choi has no intention of slowing down. Like many college golfers, he has dreams of making it big professionally, something he has had his sights on for a long time.
“I really love the game,” Choi said. “I’ve always wanted to take my golf to a professional level. [College] is kind of like a stepping stone.”
It is not uncommon for a professional golfer to have a successful college career. Tiger Woods played two seasons at Stanford before turning professional.
Choi and the rest of the team’s season ended after finishing ninth in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. He finished tied for 54th, 7-over par, at regionals.
