Introduction
An Byeong-hun (Korean: 안병훈; born 17 September 1991), also known as Byeong-Hun An or Ben An, is a professional golfer from Seoul, South Korea. In August 2009, he became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Amateur.
Amateur career
Born in Seoul, South Korea, An is the son of South Korean Ahn Jae-Hyung and Chinese Jiao Zhimin, both of whom were medalists in table tennis at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
An moved to the United States in December 2005 to attend the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Florida, where he was also known as Ben An.
In August 2009, at age 17, An became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Amateur when he defeated Ben Martin 7 & 5 in the 36-hole final at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He made his PGA Tour debut in March 2010 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, two weeks before playing in The Masters. An made the cut at the 2010 Verizon Heritage and was one shot off the lead during the second round before finishing the tournament T-59.
At the 2010 U.S. Amateur, An became the first defending champion to advance to the semifinals since Tiger Woods in 1996. After An took a 3-up lead after nine holes in his semifinal match, his opponent David Chung rallied to defeat An 1-up.
Professional career
An turned professional in 2011 and earned a spot on the Challenge Tour via three stages of qualifying school.
In June 2013, An had his best finish to date on the Challenge Tour, tied for second place at the Scottish Hydro Challenge. In August 2014, he won his first Challenge Tour event at the Rolex Trophy, making An the first Korean to win on the Challenge Tour.He finished 2014 in third place in the Challenge Tour Rankings, and moved up to the European Tour.
In May 2015, he won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.He was only the second player to win both the U.S. Amateur and the British PGA Championship, after Arnold Palmer.
In 2016, An played the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on an exemption, and lost a playoff at the first hole.In 2016, he earned enough money as a non-member to gain a PGA Tour card for 2016–17.
In December 2019, An played on the International team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16–14. An went 1–2–2 and lost his Sunday singles match against Webb Simpson.
Amateur wins (1)
- 2009 U.S. Amateur
Professional wins (3)
European Tour wins (1)
| Legend |
| BMW PGA Championships (1) |
| Other European Tour (0) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 May 2015 | BMW PGA Championship | 71-64-67-65=267 | −21 | 6 strokes | Thongchai Jaidee, Miguel Ángel Jiménez |
Challenge Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 Aug 2014 | Rolex Trophy | 63-69-73-64=269 | −19 | 3 strokes | Benjamin Hébert |
Korean Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 Sep 2015 | Shinhan Donghae Open | 66-73-66-67=272 | −12 | 1 stroke | Noh Seung-yul |
Playoff record
PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016 | Zurich Classic of New Orleans | Brian Stuard, Jamie Lovemark | Stuard won with birdie on second extra hole An eliminated with par on first hole |
| 2 | 2018 | Memorial Tournament | Bryson DeChambeau, Kyle Stanley | DeChambeau won with birdie on second extra hole Stanley eliminated with par on first hole |
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | T33 | ||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | T23 | CUT | 67 | ||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | T26 | CUT | T59 | CUT | T51 | |||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T28 | T56 |
| Tournament | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |
| PGA Championship | CUT |
| U.S. Open | T16 |
| The Open Championship | T32 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 10 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2017 PGA – 2018 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – none
Results in The Players Championship
| Tournament | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | CUT | T30 | T26 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships
| Tournament | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | T52 | T48 | T45 | T29 | ||
| Match Play | T9 | T58 | T40 | NT | ||
| Invitational | T57 | T49 | T57 | |||
| Champions | T19 | T63 | T41 | T14 |
Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
Team appearances
Professional
- EurAsia Cup (representing Asia): 2016, 2018
- World Cup (representing South Korea): 2016, 2018
- Presidents Cup (representing the International team): 2019