Ben An wins BMW PGA Championship

An Byeong-hun of South Korea fired a superb final round of 65 to win the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth by six shots from Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and evergreen Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez.

An Byeong-hun of South Korea fired a superb final round of 65 to win the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth by six shots from Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and evergreen Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez.

The South Korean’s winning total of 21-under-par set a tournament record and announced the 23-year-old as a new star on the world golfing stage.

Ben An, as he likes to be known, began the final round tied for the lead with Italy's Francesco Molinari and, although he picked up birdies at the 2nd and 4th holes, he was just one clear at the turn owing to three straight birdies from Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee between the 5th and the 7th.

But on the back nine An put the pedal to the metal. He birdied the 11th and then played a superb approach to the par-5 12th, setting up a tap-in eagle. That gave him a three-shot cushion and his advantage became four when Jaidee bogeyed the 13th.

Further birdies at the 15th and 17th gave An an insurmountable lead and he was able to enjoy his walk down the 18th hole where a par saw him take the title by six shots. The victory pushes An into the top-60 on the Official World Golf Ranking and has earned him a place in next month’s U.S. Open.

"It's like a fifth Major to me. It's the biggest title I have won and gets me into a lot of events. This is life-changing,” he said. "I'm still really excited and over the moon right now. I wasn't expecting this. I didn't know that a win was this close. It came all of a sudden. It was great to go into the last hole with a six-shot lead and I love that I'm the first Asian to win this event. It's great."

51-year-old Miguel Angel Jimenez closed with an excellent 67 to end the week in a tie for second place with Jaidee. The Thai golfer had a great chance to finish in solo second, but missed a three-foot putt on the final green.

England’s Chris Wood finished alone in fourth place. His final round of 66 was highlighted by a hole-in-one at the 14th. The ace won him a BMW i8.

Francesco Molinari had a final day to forget. He limped home with a closing 74 to drop back into fifth place.

BMW PGA Championship Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey May 21-24 Purse: €5,000,000, par 72

1    Byeong Hun An (Kor)    71    64    67    65    267    €833,330 T2    Thongchai Jaidee (Tha)    70    66    68    69    273    €434,275 T2    Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp) 68 70    68    67    273    €434    275 4    Chris Wood (Eng)        68    73    68    66    275    €250,000 5    Francesco Molinari (Ita) 65    69    68    74    276    €212,000 T6    Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 69    71    65    72    277    €162,500 T6    Shane Lowry (Ire)    74    67    67    69    277    €162,500 T8    Alex Noren (Swe)        72    67    68    71    278    €118,500 T8    Julien Quesne (Fra)    72    70    68    68    278    €118,500 10     Alejandro Canizares (Esp) 72    71    68    68    279    €100,000  

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage