An Byeong-hun’s potential first PGA win unfolds before his eyes

The countenance of An Byeong-hun (33), who narrowly missed securing his first win on the PGA Tour, was marked by regret. Despite falling short at this juncture, An has contended for victory in recent competitions, signaling his imminent triumph is within reach.

An achieved a tied second-place finish after a closely contested overtime battle in the final round of the PGA Tour Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii on Monday. On this day, An reduced his score by six strokes, bringing his final total to 17 under par 263 strokes. This performance led him into a playoff with Grayson Murray and Keegan Bradley.

The South Korean golfer experienced disappointment with the last putt in overtime. The first playoff match, conducted at the 18th hole (par 5), initially favored An. His third shot positioned him 1.3 meters from the hole. Meanwhile, Bradley had approximately five meters left, and Murray faced a putt of around 12 meters. However, luck favored Murray as his putt, spanning the 12-meter distance, found its way into the hole. In contrast, An's putt missed slightly to the right of the hole cup.

On that day, An Byeong-hun had a chance to secure victory even in the regular hole. Tied for second place, just one stroke behind the leader Bradley, An seized the opportunity for an eagle by placing his second shot, a 3-iron, approximately four meters away from the hole on the 18th hole, with about 240 yards remaining. Unfortunately, the eagle putt narrowly missed the hole cup, leading to the overtime scenario. “The second shot went exactly where I wanted," An said. "I put it well, but I think I misread the break. It was a solid week overall. I’m disappointed with the final finish, but I think my performance so far has been good.”


Heon-Jae Lee uni@donga.com