Byung-Hoon An Secures Second Victory in Europe... 'Top Spot After 9 Years and 5 Months'

Kim Joo-hyung and Playoff Duel at Genesis Championship
Winning Birdie on First Hole, $680,000 Prize
Kim Joo-hyung's Shot Mistake Costs, Kim Hong-taek Ties for 9th Place

An Byeong-hun dominated the European Tour.

Ahn Byung-hoon is teeing off at the 2nd hole of the 4th round of the Genesis Championship.
[Photo by KPGA]

On the 27th, at the final 4th round of the Genesis Championship (total prize money $4 million) held at Incheon Jack Nicklaus Korea Golf Club (par 72, 7,470 yards), he shot 5-under 67 to tie with Kim Joo-hyung at 17-under 271, then secured the winning birdie on the first hole of the playoff at the 18th hole (par 5). This marked his second career European Tour victory, 9 years and 5 months after winning the BMW PGA Championship, a DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) major event in May 2015. The winner's prize money was $680,000 (approximately 940 million KRW).

This tournament was held as a KPGA Tour event until last year but changed to a co-sanctioned event by the DP World Tour and KPGA Tour starting this year. Thirty players from the KPGA Tour and ninety players from the DP World Tour competed for the title.

An Byeong-hun started tied for the lead with Kim Joo-hyung, recording seven birdies and two bogeys. After a birdie on the 3rd hole (par 5) was offset by a bogey on the 4th hole (par 4), he energized himself with consecutive birdies on the 6th and 7th holes. In the back nine, he continued the fierce competition with a birdie on the 13th hole (par 3) followed by back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes. Although he made a bogey on the 17th hole (par 3), seemingly falling out of the winning contention, he dramatically made a birdie on the final 18th hole to force a playoff.

In the first playoff hole, An Byeong-hun hit his second shot near the green and completed the victory with a ‘3-on 1-putt’. He has had the busiest season of his career, finishing runner-up at the PGA Tour Sony Open and making five top-10 finishes, including competing in the FedEx Cup Playoffs (PO) final event, the Tour Championship. He also represented Korea alongside Kim Joo-hyung at the Paris Olympics and the Presidents Cup. In a post-victory interview, An said, "I was lucky. I am happier to win in Korea."

Kim Juhyung is teeing off at the 4th hole of the 4th round of the Genesis Championship.
[Photo by KPGA]

Kim Joo-hyung performed well, shooting 5-under, but failed to overcome the final hurdle and missed his first DP World Tour victory. He had the first chance to clinch the win with a birdie opportunity on the 18th hole, but his putt circled the hole and came out, leading to the playoff. Ricardo Gouveia (Portugal) finished 3rd at 16-under 272, and Antoine Rozner (France) took 4th place at 15-under 273. Among KPGA Tour members, ‘Screen Golf King’ Kim Hong-taek posted the best result, tying for 9th place at 11-under 277.