It was days like yesterday that the Choi family apparently had in mind 37 years ago when they auspiciously named their newborn son Kyoung-Ju.

Days when they hoped their son might shine amid the bright lights of the big city, providing him with a name, that in Chinese characters, loosely translates to capital (as in Seoul) fulfillment.

For it is said they wanted him to experience and prosper in a world beyond their small island, Wando, in southwestern South Korea.

But it is doubtful Byung Sun Choi and his wife, Shil Rye Seo, imagined the place on the world stage of golf the 2008 winner of the Sony Open in Hawai'i, now known internationally as K.J., occupies. Or the extent to which his star is rising in the sport.

By persevering through gusting winds to hold off a handful of would-be challengers for a three-stroke, wire-to-wire victory at Waialae Country Club, Choi won for the seventh time on the PGA Tour. He has at least one PGA victory each year for four years running, thus joining the well-regarded company of Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson.

He's banked more than $1 million — or 937 million Korean won at prevailing exchange rates — for two week's labor in Hawai'i. And has accumulated more than $17 million in his PGA career. Perhaps only a victory in one of golf's majors separates him from cementing a place in the upper crust.

On a day when the 105th anniversary of Korean immigration to Hawai'i was being celebrated here, Choi was made to feel at home all around Waialae. From kim chee in the lunch buffet to Korean flags that waved as he passed on the course, the welcome mat was out most of the 7,060-yard way to the championship.

Choi's brilliance this week came in the tournament's first three rounds, where he went 64-65-66, a combined 15 strokes under par. But he won the $954,000 prize yesterday through persistence and perseverance, doing what he had to amid the challenging winds, not losing his focus. It wasn't until the 18th hole that Choi managed a birdie yesterday, nearly becoming the first winner of a PGA Tour stop without a final-round birdie since 2005. In the 10 years of the Sony Open, Choi is the first winner to go over par (1-over 71) on the final round.

But Choi did what he had to, keeping the mistakes and bogeys (two) to a minimum. "He's one of those guys that's mentally hard to faze," runner-up Rory Sabbatini told the Golf Channel.

Once again, Choi was, as his parents had hoped all along, a big-time player.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.