Charlie Wi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Charlie Wi 위창수
Personal information
Full name	Wi Chang-soo
Born	(1972-01-03) 3 January 1972 (age 53) Seoul, South Korea
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Nationality	South Korea
Residence	North Hills, California, U.S.
Children	2
Career
College	University of California, Berkeley
Turned professional	1995
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour European Tour Japan Golf Tour Asian Tour Web.com Tour Korean Tour
Professional wins	9
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	1
Asian Tour	7 (Tied-9th all-time)
Other	5
Best results in Major Championships
The Masters Tournament	DNP
U.S. Open	T29: 2012
The Open Championship	DNP
PGA Championship	T9: 2008

Wi Chang-soo (Korean: 위창수), known to many as Charlie Wi, is a professional golfer from South Korea. He was born on January 3, 1972. Charlie Wi has played golf all over the world. He has competed on major tours like the PGA Tour, European Tour, Asian Tour, and Korean Tour. Currently, he plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He has won one tournament on the European Tour and seven on the Asian Tour.

Early Life and Amateur Golf Career

Charlie Wi was born in Seoul, South Korea. When he was 10 years old, he moved to Los Angeles, United States. He went to college at the University of California, Berkeley. Before that, he also spent some time at the University of Nevada, Reno. During his college years, he was a very successful amateur golfer.

Amateur Wins

Charlie Wi won two important amateur tournaments:

• 1990 California State Amateur
• 1995 Southern California Amateur

Professional Golf Journey

Charlie Wi became a professional golfer in 1995. In the early part of his career, he traveled a lot. He played on the European, Asian, and Japanese tours. He found a lot of success on the Asian Tour. In 2001, he finished second on the money list. This was just behind another great golfer, Thongchai Jaidee. Charlie Wi won three times during that season.

Playing on the PGA Tour

In 2004, Charlie Wi did well enough in the qualifying school to join the PGA Tour for 2005. However, he did not play well enough in his first year to keep his spot. So, he went back to play on the Asian Tour in 2006. He finished fourth on their money list that year. He also played on the Nationwide Tour (now called the Web.com Tour). He then went back to qualifying school and earned his spot on the PGA Tour again for 2007.

Big Wins and Close Calls

In February 2006, Charlie Wi achieved one of his biggest wins. He won the Maybank Malaysian Open. This was a special event because it was part of both the European and Asian tours.

He came very close to winning on the PGA Tour several times. In May 2011, he finished second at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. He was seven shots behind the leader, David Toms, at first. But he played a great third round and took a one-shot lead into the final day. He held his lead for a while. However, David Toms made an amazing shot for an eagle, and Charlie Wi ended up losing by just one stroke.

In February 2012, he was again a runner-up at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He had a three-shot lead going into the final round. He shot a 72, but Phil Mickelson played an incredible round of 64. Phil Mickelson came from six shots behind to win by two strokes. This was the fifth time Charlie Wi finished second on the PGA Tour.

More recently, in April 2023, Charlie Wi finished second on the PGA Tour Champions. This happened at the Invited Celebrity Classic in Irving, Texas. He lost to Mark Hensby in a sudden-death playoff after four extra holes.

Golf Swing Style

Charlie Wi's golf swing is known for fitting a style called stack and tilt. He even helped choose the name for this style! He has been coached by Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer since 2005. They believe he is the best example of their swing method.

They have said that many players think Charlie is one of the best at hitting the ball on tour. They also said that he shows the moves they teach better than anyone else. If you want to see what the Stack & Tilt swing should look like, they suggest watching Charlie Wi.

In this swing style, Charlie Wi does not move his body weight to his back leg during the backswing. Instead, he keeps his weight moving forward throughout the entire swing. This is true even when he uses his driver. He also turns his shoulders steeply around a steady center point.

Professional Wins (9)

Charlie Wi has won a total of 9 professional tournaments.

European Tour Wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	19 Feb 2006	Maybank Malaysian Open1	−19 (66-68-63=197)*	1 stroke	Thongchai Jaidee

*Note: The 2006 Maybank Malaysian Open was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.
¹This tournament was also part of the Asian Tour.

Asian Tour Wins (7)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	21 Sep 1997	Mild Seven Kuala Lumpur Open	−11 (67-73-69-68=277)	4 strokes	Lu Wen-teh, Zhang Lianwei
2	20 May 2001	SK Telecom Open1	−7 (69-72-69-71=281)	Playoff	Kang Wook-soon, Simon Yates
3	23 Sep 2001	Shinhan Donghae Open1	−12 (66-70-70-70=276)	1 stroke	Vivek Bhandari, Yang Yong-eun
4	21 Oct 2001	Volvo China Open	−16 (68-67-69-68=272)	1 stroke	Thongchai Jaidee
5	28 Apr 2002	SK Telecom Open1 (2)	−16 (67-69-67-69=272)	2 strokes	Kim Felton, Kevin Na
6	26 Sep 2004	Taiwan Open	−4 (76-76-64-68=284)	3 strokes	Terry Pilkadaris
7	18 Feb 2006	Maybank Malaysian Open2	−19 (66-68-63=197)*	1 stroke	Thongchai Jaidee

*Note: The 2006 Maybank Malaysian Open was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.
¹This tournament was also part of the Korean Tour.
²This tournament was also part of the European Tour.

Asian Tour Playoff Record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	2001	SK Telecom Open	Kang Wook-soon, Simon Yates	Won with a birdie on the seventh extra hole. Simon Yates was eliminated on the fifth hole.

Korean Tour Wins (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	20 May 2001	SK Telecom Open1	−7 (69-72-69-71=281)	Playoff	Kang Wook-soon, Simon Yates
2	23 Sep 2001	Shinhan Donghae Open1	−12 (66-70-70-70=276)	1 stroke	Vivek Bhandari, Yang Yong-eun
3	28 Apr 2002	SK Telecom Open1 (2)	−16 (67-69-67-69=272)	2 strokes	Kim Felton, Kevin Na
4	6 Jun 2004	Pocari Energy Open	−11 (69-70-74-64=277)	3 strokes	Choi Yoon-soo
5	23 Oct 2005	GS Caltex Masters	−11 (67-73-71-66=277)	8 strokes	Choi Gwang-soo

¹This tournament was also part of the Asian PGA Tour.

Korean Tour Playoff Record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	2001	SK Telecom Open	Kang Wook-soon, Simon Yates	Won with a birdie on the seventh extra hole. Simon Yates was eliminated on the fifth hole.

Playoff Record

PGA Tour Champions Playoff Record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2023	Invited Celebrity Classic	Mark Hensby	Lost to a par on the fourth extra hole.

Major Championship Results

Charlie Wi has played in some of golf's biggest tournaments, called major championships.

     Top 10 finish      Did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut (did not play the final rounds)
"T" indicates a tie for a place with other golfers.
Note: Charlie Wi never played in the Masters Tournament.

Results in The Players Championship

The Players Championship is another very important golf tournament.

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

The World Golf Championships are a series of important events for top golfers.

     Did not play "T" = Tied

Team Appearances

Charlie Wi has also represented his country and continent in team golf events.

Professional

• Dynasty Cup (representing Asia): 2003 (his team won!)
• World Cup (representing South Korea): 2006, 2009
• Royal Trophy (representing Asia): 2009 (his team won!), 2010