FedEx St. Jude Final Day 3-Over Par Struggles, Thomas Wins by 3 Shots with 2.1 Billion Jackpot, Defending Champ Koepka Ties for 2nd Place
Ahn Byung-hoon is examining the putting line on the 1st hole of the final day at the FedEx St. Jude. Memphis, Tennessee, USA = Getty Images / Multibits
[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] An Byeong-hun (29, CJ Logistics)'s march toward his first victory stopped at a tie for 12th place.
On the 3rd (Korean time) at Southwind Golf Club in Memphis, Tennessee, USA (par 70, 7,244 yards), during the final day of the PGA Tour FedEx St. Jude Invitational (total prize money $10.5 million), he lost 3 strokes and finished with an 8-under-par 272. World No. 3 Justin Thomas (USA) surged with a 5-under-par round to secure a commanding 3-stroke victory (13-under-par 267). This marked his third win of the season and 13th career victory, earning $1,787,000 (21.28 billion KRW) in prize money.
Starting the day in second place, just one stroke behind, An Byeong-hun collapsed with 3 birdies and 6 bogeys. His tee shot on the 2nd hole (par 4) landed in a fairway bunker, leading to a bogey and the beginning of a difficult stretch. Although he changed the momentum with a birdie on the 3rd hole (par 5), bogeys piled up on the 5th, 7th, and 9th holes, and he was unable to recover. His iron shots' green hit rate dropped sharply to 61.11%, causing further struggles. Fortunately, consecutive bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes were offset by 'stepping stone birdies' on the 14th and 16th holes.
An Byeong-hun is the son of the 'table tennis couple' Ahn Jae-hyung and Jiao Zhimin. He made waves by winning the 2015 European Tour major BMW PGA Championship and, as a top-ranked player in 2016, participated in 14 PGA Tour events, finishing 111th in the money list to secure a direct ticket to the tour. Although he has finished second three times in 114 events, he has yet to claim a victory, which has been a source of frustration. This year, too, he has shown good form with five top-10 finishes in 18 events.
What remains especially disappointing for An Byeong-hun is missing the chance to become the first Korean to win a World Golf Championships (WGC) series event. The WGC series is renowned for its stature, comparable to the four major championships, and its total prize money exceeds that of the Playoffs (PO, $9.5 million). This is why world stars gather for these events. Among the Korean contingent, Im Sung-jae (22) tied for 35th place (3-under-par 277), and Kang Sung-hoon (33, both CJ Logistics) tied for 44th place (2-under-par 278).
Justin Thomas is cheering while holding the trophy right after winning the FedEx St. Jude. Memphis, Tennessee, USA = Getty Images / Multibitz
Thomas swept up 6 birdies (1 bogey) to successfully overtake the lead. He secured victory momentum early with 4 birdies on the front nine at holes 2, 3, 7, and 9. Although he had his only bogey on the 12th hole (par 4) on the back nine, he sealed the win with consecutive birdies on the 15th and 16th holes. Having already reached three wins early this season?including The CJ Cup in October 2020 and the Sentry Tournament in January?he is aiming not only for multiple wins but also to sweep individual titles such as the money list and FedEx Cup (PO) rankings.
Defending champion Brooks Koepka's chase ended in a tie for second place (10-under-par 270). He was just one stroke behind but suffered a critical double bogey on the final 18th hole (par 4) when his tee shot landed in the water. Veteran Phil Mickelson reduced his score by 3 strokes to join the group. 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (both USA) tied for 30th place (4-under-par 276), while 'Number 1' Jon Rahm (Spain) remained tied for 52nd place (1-over-par 281).
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