Ben An wins BMW PGA Championship
Impressive Ben An wins the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth
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."
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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
Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.
He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.
Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?
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